In an effort to reduce the likelihood and severity of crashes involving children, many jurisdictions have reduced the legal speed limit in school zones and some localities have also reduced the speed limit on roads aroundplaygrounds. Although the two types of reduced speed zones should produce similar outcomes in terms of compliance and traffic speed, driver perception and acceptance of the two treatments may be different. This study measures traffic speeds and compliance rates in school and playground zones to determine if drivers behave differently in different types of zones. The study also examined the effects of road width (number of lanes) and thepresence of fencing on traffic speeds and compliance rates. Spot speed measurements were collected at selected school and playground zones in Calgary, Alberta. The zones had a legal speed limit of 30 km/h and were located in residential areas that would otherwise have a limit of 50 km/h. Results showed that the mean speed in both the school and playground zones was slightly higher than the legal limit of 30 km/h but substantially lower than 50 km/h. The mean speed in playground zones was slightly but statistically significantly higher than the mean in school zones. Playground zonesalso had a higher noncompliance rate. Mean speeds and noncompliance were slightly higher on four-lane roads compared to two-lane roads. Mean speedand noncompliance rates were lower in zones with chain-link fencing.
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