The Town of Okotoks will be exploring different options on how to calm down the traffic flow through Cimarron Boulevard.

A recent safety review of the roadway was presented to town council last week showing ways to improve the safety of what's becoming a busy roadway.

Councillor Tanya Thorn says the report was for the Town to find the best solutions to traffic calming.

"The importance of doing a traffic calming study is that you can make changes on one roadway, but they always have another impact on another roadway," she says. "So we need to look at the Cimarron flow of traffic in a grander scale and not just at Cimarron Boulevard."

Thorn says through the review, the Town has found some effective ways to either slow or calm traffic down.

"Creating more pinch points, so narrowing our crosswalks. Right now on Cimarron Boulevard we've got some longer width crosswalks, the flashing beacons is another one we can manage some things in terms in how we deal with turn signals."

On the discussion with town council, speed reductions were another option for the area.

Currently Cimarron Boulevard is a 40 km/h zone and there's been the idea of dropping the limit to 30 km/h.

Thorn says the speed limit drop may not calm the traffic, but would still see a significant safety increase.

"The advantage of a 30 km/h zone is that then people maybe are driving 40 because now they're now that 10 over as where at now with 40 they're driving 50 and the risks and the impacts at 50 are far more significant on pedestrians bikes at 50 than they are at 40."

Council has taken the traffic calming report as information and will come up with decision on what to do with Cimarron Boulevard and areas around it in the next few weeks.

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