The province’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) has turned down a request to lower the mandatory speed limit from 50 km/h to 30 km/h for a one-kilometre section of Beach Avenue in Roberts Creek.
In an Aug. 7 letter received Monday by the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) transportation advisory committee, MOTI area manager and district development tech Colin Midgley said the section of Beach Avenue between Roberts Creek Road and Cedar Grove Road did not warrant a reduced speed limit as it does not contain any parks or school zones.
“Rural side roads have their speed set at 50 km/h based on a number of engineered factors, which are reviewed at the time of construction and after completion,” Midgley wrote.
One engineering assessment, he said, looks at the average speed that 85 per cent of drivers feel comfortable driving at. “The other 15 per cent of drivers will either be going faster or slower than the posted speed. The small percentage that is above the posted speed becomes an enforcement issue.”
Other factors used to assess speed limits are crash studies, geometric features and land use, the letter said.
Midgley noted that curve warning signs are already in place to suggest drivers slow down to 30 km/h and said MOTI will install “share the road” symbol warning signs along the section.
The SCRD requested the speed limit drop earlier this year after a group of Roberts Creek residents called for the change due to pedestrian safety concerns.
Roberts Creek director Donna Shugar said Monday that Midgley’s letter was “a disappointing response, but not entirely unexpected.”
The committee passed Shugar’s motion for parks staff to communicate MOTI’s response to concerned residents who had made the initial request.
In its letter to MOTI, the SCRD pointed out that Beach Avenue, Lower Road and all beach access road ends are designated as a scenic heritage route in the Roberts Creek official community plan, which includes the option of “reducing speed limits in specific locations” to provide safer pedestrian and cycling use.
