For as long as many in southeast Saskatchewan remember, the speed limit when passing through Yellow Grass on Highway 39 has been 50 km/h. It is, for some, a jarring transition, as the speed limit on both sides of the community is 100 km/h.

The limits were originally set at 50 km/h when there was a grain elevator in the community, to help reduce collisions as vehicles would turn off the highway to access the elevator on the east, or to turn into the town itself on the west, where many businesses lined the highway. In recent years, the grain elevator and associated agribusinesses on the east side have disappeared, the elevator coming down in 2014.

When it happened, there was an anticipation by many the speed limit would change, but four years later, it remains at 50 km/h. With no change happening, many asked whether it was the province’s call to make the change or the Town of Yellow Grass. According to Steve Shaheen with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure, the decision to leave it at 50 km/h is a joint one.

“It is a provincial responsibility, and since those businesses are no longer there, the Ministry did conduct a speed study back in 2017, which proposed an increase in the speed limit to 70 km/h at that location,” Shaheen explained. “Town council did, however, express some concerns about an increase in speed at the time, so the Ministry granted the community’s wishes.”

With the change in speed limits being so sudden for some motorists, the province is looking at making some changes to the speeds in the area.

“The Ministry is currently in the process of implementing what they call a speed transition zone on both sides of the town to assist in adjusting that speed limit through the town,” Shaheen added.

The town of Yellow Grass isn’t alone in terms of being a community where a major highway requires a drop in speed as it passes through. Chamberlain, which is on Highway 11 between Regina and Saskatoon, has a speed limit of 50 kilometres an hour. With an abundance of businesses on both sides of the highway, the need is there for safety.

While the limit is currently 50 km/h in Yellow Grass, this doesn’t mean it will remain there forever.

“If an increase is requested by the people in the future, certainly the Government of Saskatchewan would revisit a speed adjustment,” Shaheen stated.

With the speed limit sitting at 50 km/h, police are reminding motorists to slow down when they approach the town. This past weekend, members of the Weyburn Police Service’s Combined Traffic Services Section clocked one driver going 89 km/h, netting the motorist a $562 ticket.