Speeding continued to be a problem in October outside Sun Haven Waldorf School in Roberts Creek, the volunteer group Speed Watch said in its monthly report.
Speed Watch clocked 40 drivers last month - one-quarter of the 159 vehicles checked -speeding 11 km or more above the 30 km/h speed limit in the Sun Haven school zone. The school is situated at Camp Douglas, on the northwest corner of Beach Avenue and Margaret Road.
By comparison, only 19 vehicles out of 591 checked last month -or three per cent - were speeding in the school zone of Gibsons Elementary School.
A September deployment blitz by Speed Watch checked almost 11,000 vehicles in school zones and had a deterring effect on most drivers, but Sun Haven stood out last month as the exception, said Sunshine Coast Speed Watch coordinator Jon Hird.
"We need to be there for a third month to see if the problem is ongoing, and if it is, from that point we try to convince the RCMP that their presence might be required," Hird said.
About 75 students up to Grade 5 attend the Waldorf school, according to the school website.
The October Speed Watch campaign also clocked 19 drivers (15 per cent of those checked) speeding in the 30 km/h zone on Shaw Road, 11 drivers (13 per cent) speeding in the 50 km/h limit on Lower Road at Leek Road, and 55 (10 per cent) speeding in the 50 km/h zone on Pratt Road.
Speed Watch considers a violation rate of 10 per cent or less as typical, but more than 10 per cent is a problem, Hird said during his presentation to the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) transportation advisory committee on Oct. 29.
Another issue identified in September was caused by "a small number of drivers just gum-booting along Cemetery Road," Hird said. But since Speed Watch is strictly a driver awareness program, that problem "is better addressed through enforcement and a ticket, rather than a polite request," he added.
The problem wasn't news to Const. Todd Bozak of the RCMP's Sunshine Coast Traffic Services, who said some people are using the route "as their new bypass to fly ahead of the highway traffic."
In fact, Bozak said, two vehicles were recently impounded on Cemetery Road due to excessive speed (40 km/h or more above the posted limit).
"I do sit up at the top of the hill there and hide in the bush," Bozak said. "We are watching it and we're taking away a few cars there."
Hird also quoted from a crash study used in the United Kingdom that found the odds of a pedestrian fatality were five per cent at 30 km/h compared to 45 per cent at 50 km/h.
"It's nine times more likely to kill the pedestrian -that's a statistic to remember as we go forward," Hird said. "The City of Vancouver is looking at reducing speed limits on residential streets, and I like to think that sometime on the Sunshine Coast we'll be thinking of it as well."
The same message - reduced speed limits can dramatically enhance safety - was given at the VeloCity International Bike Conference last summer, SCRD parks planning coordinator Sam Adams told the advisory committee.
"The proof is in the pudding," Adams said. "It's not for everywhere, but in some places it's what we should be looking at."
