Bill 6 - An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicle Act

BILL 6

An Act to Amend the Motor Vehicle Act

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

1 Section 1 of the Motor Vehicle Act, chapter M-17 of the Revised Statutes, 1973, is amended by adding the following definitions in alphabetical order:

“municipality” means a city, town or village. (municipalité)

“professional engineer” means a person who (ingénieur)

(a) is registered as a member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick and as entitled to engage in the practice of engineering,

(b) has received a licence from the Council of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of New Brunswick to engage in engineering, or

(c) is practising as a professional engineer in New Brunswick under subsection 11(7) of the Engineering and Geoscience Professions Act.

2 Section 140.1 of the Act is amended

(a) in subsection (1)

( i) by repealing paragraph (a) and substituting the following:

(a) thirty kilometres per hour in a municipality,

( ii) in paragraph (b) by striking out “subsection 142(2)” and substituting “subsection 142(2) or (2.1)”;

( iii) in paragraph (c) by striking out “eighty” and substituting “fifty”;

(b) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

140.1( 2) The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure may designate parts of provincial highways that are in the vicinity of public or private schools as school zones and may, after conducting a technical evaluation that is based on Transportation Association of Canada guidelines and approved by a professional engineer, prescribe for those parts of provincial highways

(a) a higher rate of maximum speed than the rate of speed prescribed in paragraph (1)(a) for provincial highways located within the bounds of a municipality, or

(b) subject to subsection (2.2), a lower or higher rate of maximum speed than the rate of speed prescribed in paragraph (1)( c) for provincial highways in other locations where the speed limit is not otherwise posted.

140.1( 2.1) The rate of speed prescribed under subsection (2) shall be in effect during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the days during which a public school or private school in the vicinity of that school zone is in session.

140.1( 2.2) The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure shall not prescribe a maximum speed that is lower than thirty kilometres per hour.

3 Section 141 of the Act is amended in the portion preceding paragraph (a) by striking out “may prescribe” and substituting “may, after conducting a technical evaluation that is based on Transportation Association of Canada guidelines and approved by a professional engineer, prescribe”.

4 Section 142 of the Act is amended

(a) in subsection (1) by striking out “within its bounds or jurisdiction” and substituting “within its bounds and under its jurisdiction”;

(b) by repealing subsection (2) and substituting the following:

142( 2) Subject to subsection (5.1), a municipality may, by by-law, designate parts of highways within its bounds and under its jurisdiction that are in the vicinity of public or private schools as school zones, and may prescribe for those parts of highways a higher rate of maximum speed than the rate of speed prescribed in paragraph 140.1(1)(a) for those highways and the rate of speed shall be in effect during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the days during which a public school or private school in the vicinity of that school zone is in session.

142( 2.1) Subject to subsection (2.2) and (5.2), a rural community or regional municipality may, by by-law, designate parts of highways within its bounds and under its jurisdiction that are in the vicinity of public or private schools as school zones, and may prescribe for those parts of highways a lower or higher rate of maximum speed than the rate of speed prescribed in paragraph 140.1(1)(c) for those highways and the rate of speed shall be in effect during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the days during which a public school or private school in the vicinity of that school zone is in session.

142( 2.2) A rural community or regional municipality shall not make a by-law that purports to prescribe a maximum speed that is lower than thirty kilometres per hour and any such by-law has no force or effect.

(d) by repealing subsection (5) and substituting the following:

142( 5) A local authority shall not make a by-law that purports to prescribe a higher or lower rate of maximum speed than the rate of speed prescribed in paragraph 140(1)(a) for a provincial highway or part of a provincial highway located within its bounds and any such by-law has no force or effect.

(e) by adding after subsection (5) the following:

142( 5.1) A municipality shall not make a by-law that purports to prescribe a higher or lower rate of maximum speed than the rate of speed prescribed in paragraph 140.1(1)(a) for a provincial highway or part of a provincial highway located within its bounds and any such by-law has no force or effect.

142( 5.2) A rural community or regional municipality shall not make a by-law that purports to prescribe a higher or lower rate of maximum speed than the rate of speed prescribed in paragraph 140.1(1)(c) for a provincial highway or part of a provincial highway located within its bounds and any such by-law has no force or effect.

5 Section 142.01 of the Act is amended

(a) in subsection (2) by striking out “highway” and substituting “provincial highway”;

(b) in subsection (4) by striking out “within its bounds or under its jurisdiction” and substituting “within its bounds and under its jurisdiction”.

6 This Act or any provision of it comes into force on a day or days to be fixed by proclamation.