The City of Red Deer is changing their school and playground zone times in an attempt to make things easier for drivers, and safer for children playing.

The new changes include adjusting the school zone times to be in effect from 8am to 4:30pm on school days.

Playground zones will be in effect from 8am until 9pm every day.

In combination areas, where both times zones are a factor, they will simply be converted into playground zones to avoid any confusion.

The speed limit is still 30 km/h in both of these zones, and all signs will be fitted with a time tab noting the effective time zones.

“The new times are really simple and cover peak play hours for schools and playgrounds,” said Wayne Gustafson, Engineering Services Manager. “This will make it easier for drivers and safer for pedestrians.”

The City currently follows the school and playground zone times set by the Alberta Traffic Safety Act. As allowed by the Traffic Safety Act, the City is moving to new times that better fit the needs of the community.

“There is a lot of confusion around the end time of playground zones and the definition of sunset in provincial standards,” said Gustafson. “We’ve eliminated that confusion, so drivers should have an easier time remembering the new times.

Locally, the City of Lacombe sent out a traffic survey a few months ago, asking residents a number of questions related to driving in our city.

These questions included the speed limit driving through downtown, some of the speed limits on the major highways around Lacombe, and the limits set in playground/school zones.

Once all the information is compiled, a report will be presented at City Council, and any major comments or concerns will be addressed then.