Limiting your speed to 30 km/h when driving through Penticton school zones will soon be a permanent requirement.

New traffic signs are now being installed outside schools, with the city changing speed limits within all school and playground zones to 30 km/h at all times 鈥� 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The changes were approved in May after Penticton City Council voted 6-1 to receive an internal safety report and directed staff to send a letter to the province expressing support for municipal autonomy in setting default speed limits.

Coun. Ryan Graham was opposed.

RCMP will begin enforcing the permanent speed-limit reduction when the new school year kicks off Sept. 3, city officials said.

鈥淭hroughout the summer, and in the evenings and weekends, we see kids at the fields or playgrounds past the typical school zone hours,鈥� Kristen Dixon, the city鈥檚 general manager of infrastructure, said after council approved the changes.

鈥淲e want to keep our kids safe 鈥� and reducing speeds to 30 km/h is one of the steps we can take to slow drivers through these zones where children are playing.鈥�

According to the city, the changes could result in the addition of "traffic calming measures," like new speed humps, around school zones and playgrounds. 

City officials are also warning drivers about the anticipated extra road congestion around schools during drop-off and pick-up times, as Grade 8 students this year move to Pen-High or Princess Margaret Secondary.

The transition is part of School District 67's "long-term facilities plan," which will also see the closures of Carmi, Parkland, and Giant's Head elementary schools in June 2025.