Sechelt council is allowing traffic bollards on Baillie Road in West Sechelt to stay in place, while the district explores ways to balance the interests of the neighbourhood with the concerns of its insurance provider and first responders.
A motion to remove the bollards was defeated on a tie vote at a Feb. 28 committee meeting where councillors passed a recommendation to allow similar bollards on Apollo Road to stay, as long as the local strata takes formal ownership of them.
District staff, backed by the Sechelt Fire Department, asked for approval to remove the structures following a review by the Municipal Insurance Association (MIA).
The MIA’s consultants rate the bollards as a “medium” risk to life safety because emergency vehicles may take longer to reach calls – and the added response time could “lead to or heighten injuries.”
Community members who appeared before the committee argued that keeping the bollards in place makes the neighbourhood safer, and presented petitions asking that both sets remain.
David Gerow said people in the neighbourhood around Oracle Heights are worried that removing the bollards could “turn Baillie Road into a main arterial route.” Other presenters noted roads in the area are narrow, which could create dangerous situations if through-traffic increases.
The question of removing the bollards was last before council in 2015, when Coun. Mike Shanks was the only one to vote in favour of their removal.
Shanks was a non-voting observer at the committee meeting.
At the March 7 council meeting, with about 50 community members on hand, Shanks said he spoke with the former directors of planning and engineering, the former fire chief and four members of the council that approved the bollards in 2007. “At no time in those [earlier council] motions was it regarded that the bollards would be made permanent,” he said.
Coun. Doug Wright, meanwhile, said “the community by and large wants these bollards left in place” and they should only be removed if the MIA was actually ordering it.
