Many people who live in Hanover claim the new road signs that set the maximum speed to 70km/h in their rural neighborhoods are too fast.

The purpose of the new signage, set up by the Highway Traffic Board, was to reduce speed. However, those who live in the area say they expect this to increase rather than decrease the average speed of vehicular traffic.

One resident, Marge Block, explains this reasoning: “I think most people assumed it was 50km/h We have many kids in the area and they should be able to ride their bikes and play on the road safely, so 70 is just too fast”.

CAO for the RM of Hanover Luc Lahaie indicates the given speed limit of any unmarked gravel road is automatically 90km/h. He adds, two years ago the RM applied for speeds to be reduced to 50km/h in fifty-three neighborhoods across the area. Only now, Lahaie continues, did the Highway Traffic Board finally go through these neighborhoods, and evaluate what speeds would be best based on population and proximity of houses in a given area.

For thirteen of the fifty-three Hanover neighborhoods, the Highway Traffic Board lowered the speed limit to only 70km/h rather than the 50km/h requested by the municipality, notes Lehaie.

Trish Plett, who lives in one of the affected areas offers her opinion. “I personally think this is going to increase the speed on our road. We live in a community with lots of houses and lots of small children and I think 70km/h in this development is a little on the high side”.

Another resident, Cam Gerbrandt, adds: “The goal may have been to reduce the speed, but I think it will have the opposite effect. I think this should be treated kind of like a residential area like Steinbach or any other village or town where the speed limit is 50km/h”.

Lehaie indicates the Highway Traffic Board is slowly being phased out and the RM of Hanover will have control over rural road speeds sometime in 2019. Lehaie claims that if these new speed limits prove to be a major problem over time the municipality will have them changed when they gain jurisdiction. He states that the RM is on the residents' side and they want local neighborhoods to be as safe as possible.