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Winnipeg public service recommends lowering default speed limit to 40 km/h from 50 km/h

CBC News * Posted: Feb 25, 2026 11:30 AM CST

The City of Winnipeg's public service is recommending lowering the default speed limit in the city from 50 km/h to 40 km/h.

The recommendation applies to local streets and minor collector roads, a report on the agenda for the upcoming March 4 public works committee meeting says.

A pilot project that started in March 2023 reduced speed limits in four neighbourhoods to see how that change would affect driving behaviour, safety and quality of life, says the report in the agenda for March 4.

The first step in changing the speed limit would be for council to ask the province to give the city the authority to make the change through a bylaw, the agenda says.

That would be done through an amendment to Manitoba's Highway Traffic Act, it says.

Lower speed limits could improve safety, especially for pedestrians and cyclists, and make neighbourhoods feel calmer and quieter, the report says.

The public service also recommends it report back in a year with an update on the recommendation for council to ask the province for permission to make the change, and what progress has been made on the implementation plan, the meeting agenda says.