A new neighbourhood association has combined forces with Elphinstone Community Association to lobby local government for changes to what they call a dangerous portion of the Sunshine Coast Highway.
The group, which has collected 500 signatures for a petition for improved highway safety, brought their concerns to the transportation committee at the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) on July 19, where they urged the committee to write a letter of support.
The petition, which has been given to Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons, calls for changes to a 1.5-kilometre section of highway between Lower Road and Henry Road on the western outskirts of Gibsons. It asks for the posted speed limit to be reduced from 80 km/h to 60 km/h and for a painted crosswalk, a pedestrian-operated crosswalk or a vehicle-activated traffic light.
“You’re probably all aware how dangerous it is in that section,” Sandra Cunningham, presidentof the newly formed Woodcreek Park Neighbourhood Association, said to the committee.
The area of concern includes turnoffs to the Poplars Mobile Home Park and Woodcreek Park via Oceanview Drive. North and southbound bus stops are also located along that stretch. “To get across there you have to actually run across the highway,” said Cunningham. Many parents, she said, don’t allow their children to take the bus because of the highway crossing.
The area has been the site of at least three deaths as a result of pedestrians attempting to cross the highway. In January 2007, 12-year-old Brynn Suddes was struck by a pickup truck while crossing with a friend after getting off a bus, and in March 2016, 86-year-old Janice Farrell was fatally struck at the intersection of Oceanview Drive and Highway 101 while trying to cross the highway from the bus stop. Elphinstone Director Lorne Lewis said a 16-year-old died in 1994 at Pine Street and 101 while trying to catch a bus.
Turning lanes were added in front of Oceanview Drive in response to the 2007 fatality, but Cunningham said “what that did was widen the amount of road you actually have to run across to get to the bus stop on the other side.” Following the 2016 accident, Ministry of Transportation engineers installed pedestrian activity signs at the Oceanview Drive intersection and at the Poplars access, in addition to delineators to improve visibility at night.
Cunningham cited a 2011 Integrated Transportation Study that looked at Sunshine Coast Highway improvements and recommended that the 60 km/h speed limit zone be extended beyond Burton Road as well as erecting pedestrian warning signs. The report also recommended installing a formal crosswalk if pedestrian volumes warrant it.
While the SCRD has no authority over roads, Cunningham said a letter of support gives the group more credibility as it lobbies the ministry for change. Lewis said he would track Transportation Minister Claire Trevena down “one way or another, either officially or unofficially” to speak about their concerns at the Union of BC Municipalities convention in September.
Gibsons Coun. Silas White, who also attended the committee, said he would take the presentation to Gibsons. “I think we could certainly be involved in a UBCM delegation as well,” he said.
Roberts Creek director Mark Lebbell made a motion that the SCRD write a letter of support on behalf of increased pedestrian safety infrastructure on Highway 101 between Lower Road and Henry Road. It passed unanimously. No representatives from the Ministry of Transportation were present at the meeting.
– With files from Sean Eckford
