TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION
Safe Passing Distance Law
School Districts all across BC want healthier and more active students. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by getting more children and families to walk and bike to school.
However, few roads in our province have bike lanes or shoulders, and many do not even have sidewalks, forcing people on bikes and on foot to share the road with high-speed motor vehicle traffic. This has sadly led to injuries and deaths of many young people, who were just on their way to school.
Currently, there is no law in place in BC stating how much space a person driving should give when passing vulnerable road users. Many provinces, including Ontario and Quebec, have mandated by law minimum passing distances of at least one metre to protect vulnerable road users.
Contact HUB cycling network
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March 2021 News
Speed Reduction Pilot Project Application letter to province
Resolution passed at Saanich meeting 1 Feb 2021
BYLAW AND PARKING ENFORCEMENT – SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL
“That Council endorse the following model for parking enforcement and direct staff to incorporate the funding requirements in the 2021 Financial Plan for implementation effective May 1, 2021:
1. Responsibility for basic parking enforcement be transferred from the Saanich Police Department to the Bylaw Enforcement Section;
2. That the following staff changes be made:
a) The Manager of Inspection Services position be split into two roles: Manager of Inspection Services (responsible for building inspections and
inspections administration) and Manager of Bylaw and Licensing Services (responsible for bylaw enforcement, parking enforcement and
business licensing);
b) Three full time equivalent (FTE) new enforcement staff be hired as Level 1 Bylaw Enforcement Officers responsible for enforcing parking,
Streets and Traffic Bylaw matters, Boulevard Bylaw matters and Parks Management and Control Bylaw matters;
c) 0.5 FTE Bylaw Clerk be hired.
3. Parking enforcement services be provided during business hours and on evenings and weekends through the Bylaw Enforcement Section; and
4. The Bylaw Notice Enforcement Ticketing system be implemented for ticketing for parking violations.”
Driving to fast continues to be a problem on our side streets.
In this case a frustrated resident has added information
near Colquitz Middle School
at the corner of Dumeresq St.and Raymond St.
“Mobility is an integral part of a sustainable community fabric, and demands careful consideration of the interaction of land use and transportation and the resulting environmental, social, and economic impacts.” (Saanich OCP (2008) p.4-27)
As the region as a whole undergoes a period of densification and transition stemming from the Regional Growth and Sustainability strategies, it makes sense to attend to the quality of life of residents in existing residential communities. Quiet, green space and physical safety are important contributors to citizen well being. It makes sense, therefore, to develop policies that optimize such values.
Traffic remains a major concern for residents in many Saanich neighbourhoods—certainly it is a concern for neighbourhoods in the MVCCA catchment. There are several causes of increased traffic volumes, including growing families, secondary suites and real estate development. The pronounced increase in density of people in the Mt. View and Saanich Core areas is accompanied by an increase in density of vehicles. In addition, the congestion on major roads encourage attempts to find short cuts through our community. Increased traffic volume frequently takes place on narrow residential streets without sidewalks, such as Rowland Ave., Cadillac St. Seaton St., Whiteside and several others; so pedestrians, cyclists, and scooter users—most often children or elderly residents—are required to negotiate around parked vehicles while sharing the street with cars travelling 50k/h or faster.
Moreover the grid lock volumes of traffic by commuting vehicles during the afternoon rush hours of Burnside Road West, Interurban Rd and Tillicum Rd to Glanford Ave. makes the egress of residential vehicles from the side streets extremely difficult and, thus, risky. One such example is Arlene Place, which exits onto McKenzie Avenue. They have documented their problem on a YouTube video taken by a drone. See Arlene Place traffic problem
For many years, Carey road was a high speed thoroughfare between McKenzie Avenue and Town and Country- now Uptown-- shopping center. Now, while Carey moves heavy volumes of traffic, pedestrian-controlled crossings and refuge islands have provided a measure of traffic calming and the pedestrian environment has improved.
See also information on the proposed BC Transit Hub.
The street spaces on Davidson (off Boleskine)
fill up with cars on weekdays.
As the region as a whole undergoes a period of densification and transition stemming from the Regional Growth and Sustainability strategies, it makes sense to attend to the quality of life of residents in existing residential communities. Quiet, green space and physical safety are important contributors to citizen well being. It makes sense, therefore, to develop policies that optimize such values.
Traffic remains a major concern for residents in many Saanich neighbourhoods—certainly it is a concern for neighbourhoods in the MVCCA catchment. There are several causes of increased traffic volumes, including growing families, secondary suites and real estate development. The pronounced increase in density of people in the Mt. View and Saanich Core areas is accompanied by an increase in density of vehicles. In addition, the congestion on major roads encourage attempts to find short cuts through our community. Increased traffic volume frequently takes place on narrow residential streets without sidewalks, such as Rowland Ave., Cadillac St. Seaton St., Whiteside and several others; so pedestrians, cyclists, and scooter users—most often children or elderly residents—are required to negotiate around parked vehicles while sharing the street with cars travelling 50k/h or faster.
Moreover the grid lock volumes of traffic by commuting vehicles during the afternoon rush hours of Burnside Road West, Interurban Rd and Tillicum Rd to Glanford Ave. makes the egress of residential vehicles from the side streets extremely difficult and, thus, risky. One such example is Arlene Place, which exits onto McKenzie Avenue. They have documented their problem on a YouTube video taken by a drone. See Arlene Place traffic problem
For many years, Carey road was a high speed thoroughfare between McKenzie Avenue and Town and Country- now Uptown-- shopping center. Now, while Carey moves heavy volumes of traffic, pedestrian-controlled crossings and refuge islands have provided a measure of traffic calming and the pedestrian environment has improved.
See also information on the proposed BC Transit Hub.
The street spaces on Davidson (off Boleskine)
fill up with cars on weekdays.
Carey Road at Hwy 1
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picture of car turning left onto Hwy 1 from the new 'bus only' left turn lane
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RIGHT TURN ON CAREY: A HISTORY
At the beginning of the Uptown Development process, MVCCA members obtained verbal assurances from Saanich planning, Morguard and representatives of MOTI that Carey Road would never be opened to a right turn from Douglas.
Residents of the Carey - Tillicum area are concerned that the increase of cut through traffic volume will be severely detrimental to the neighbourhood's air quality and noise burden. They argue that opening Harriet is not the correct solution and a better one is to close both Carey and Harriet to non-local traffic.
For more information, check out the links to correspondence and other documents below.
| mt_view_colquitz_traffic_count_history.pdf |
| carey_road.letter_to_moti.march_18.15_final.doc |
Left turn on to Carey Road
At article in the Saanich News June 13 , 2018 indicates that access to Carey Road from Hwy #1
will be permanently closed and the intersection of Douglas St. and Saanich Road will be upgraded.