I am highly disappointed in the Town of Qualicum Beach’s recent ‘Age Friendly Transportation’ announcement.
It seems that the common sense that was implemented two years ago to reduce the speed limits between Hollywood Road and the railway tracks and the west side of Arbutus/Laburnum roads (and Memorial Avenue) just went out the window. Now it has been changed and increased to 70 km/h. How is that ‘age friendly’ and ‘transport friendly’ towards the Arrowview elementary school speed-reduction zone and towards cyclist commuters?
These sections of roads have a current problem with unsafe drivers already crossing the white shoulder lanes and cell phones pressed to ears, blowing past the school zones and bike-trail crossings, and to increase the limit of speed another 10-20 km/h increases the danger rating for students and cyclists. The current 50 km/h speed buffer is required to alert drivers to stay alert.
Who decided this abomination? The municipal engineer or members of town council? Village Way was also altered to 60 km-h but the limit increases the speed by another 10 km/h at the Fellowship Church student crossing and parallel side-trail. It was 50, now 60 km/h and plenty of children use that crossing.
Also, has not the municipality and the region here been paying attention to Victoria’s plan to implement a European-style style 40 km/h default limit for residential streets, with a remarkable drop in accidents and drop in severity of injuries? The European Union is currently considering a further reduction to 30 km/h.
I no longer call it a road, I call it a highway, and feel very unsafe using it.
It seems again that Qualicum’s resistance to cyclists’ concerns and school safety has dropped another bar downward. I don’t know what the mindset is over there in recent months at the municipal and engineering and yard’s concepts, but I’m not impressed.
I am worried for the safety of young and old cyclists and doggy-walkers and joggers and students. While Victoria-CRD and Vancouver and Courtenay/Comox are moving forward on cyclist/alternative transportation, I wonder if someone must die on the edges of our roadways before this ‘age friendly’ action is reversed?
A long-sought after and requested yellow-pedestrian-light and crossing for Bennett/Sunrise/Fern connector is being ignored, and the 30 km/h school speed- sign not adequately spaced further out from the school zone.
I feel that something horrible will occur.
Peter Bolten
Qualicum Beach