Speed Reduction Programs

Learn about traffic on local roads, and how to request traffic calming in your neighbourhood.

Reducing speed in your community

In Surrey, we slow drivers down with:  

  • engineering and traffic calming devices on local roads put in by us,
  • traffic law enforcement from the RCMP,
  • driver education (eg Speed Watch) from us, ICBC and the RCMP, and
  • speed reader boards (a pilot program)

Did you know? We only use traffic calming devices, such as speed humps, on local roads. Arterial and collector roads need to carry more traffic and run at higher speeds to keep traffic flowing.

Traffic calming measures

The following outlines the most common ways Surrey addresses issues of speeding on our roads.

Traffic calming devices on local roads

Your neighbourhood can request traffic calming devices to reduce traffic speeds on your local road. When you request traffic calming in your neighbourhood, we'll do surveys and watch traffic in your area to decide if your neighbourhood needs traffic calming. Then, we'll choose where to put the traffic calming devices to help slow traffic the most.

While deciding where to put the devices, we look at locations of

  • bus stops,
  • intersections,
  • driveways,
  • manholes and catch basins,
  • streetlights,
  • grade of road,
  • road alignment,
  • length of road, and road shoulder or curb.

Contact our Traffic Management Section at EngWebmail@surrey.ca or 604-591-4338 if you have any questions on traffic calming devices.

Traffic law enforcement from the RCMP

The RCMP enforces traffic laws and speed limits in Surrey. They focus on areas with high numbers of traffic collisions. A fear of a traffic penalty can be a deterrent from speeding.

The City of Surrey makes sure speed limits are reasonable and consistently applied in Surrey. 

Driver education and Speed Watch

Pay attention to the RCMP's Speed Watch and drive more slowly on local roads. We do traffic calming projects each year, but also we're expanding road safety education through the Transportation Strategic Plan to make sure you get the message and slow down.

Check your driving speed against the Speed Watch board the next time you're driving by. Experience shows 70 percent of drivers travelling 10 kilometres per hour over the speed limit slow down when they see a speed-reader board. So, think about how fast you're driving the next time you see a board.

With Speed Watch, neighbourhood volunteers, RCMP and the City of Surrey are aiming to

  • make you aware of road safety,
  • get communities working against speed-related problems,
  • collect speed-related data, and to
  • help police determine speed problem locations.
Speed reader boards (pilot program)

Speed Reader Boards help raise awareness and reduce vehicle speeds.

How the boards work

Speed reader boards use radar to measure vehicle speeds and provide feedback to drivers of the speed they are travelling relative to posted speed limit. This treatment is currently being used in many municipalities across the Lower Mainland.

Why we're installing them

Studies suggest these signs are highly effective at reducing vehicle speeds immediately after installation, however motorists get used to them over time. As a result, as part of our pilot program, we are installing speed reader boards for a period of 4 to 6 months, and then they will be moved to a new location