Editor:
I'm writing this as a citizen living on the corner of Davis Bay Road and Highway 101. I've been watching the Davis Bay highway modification debate with a mixture of amusement, amazement and deep frustration.
As someone who lives right on the offending corner, my wife, kids and I have crossed the street dozens, if not hundreds, of times. And each time we do, we brace ourselves. Cars and trucks travel way too fast. There are no stop signs. And crosswalks are few and far between. It is a very dangerous trek.
In August, the kids and I crossed the street and almost literally got hit by a driver who didn't seem to care. My daughter, Alexandra, was shaken.
On its face, the proposal on the table from the Ministry of Transportation and the Regional District seems to be a complex and expensive solution to a fairly straightforward problem.
In my humble judgment, that stretch of highway needs two or three stop signs, more pedestrian crosswalks, new signs for lower speed limits and aggressive RCMP enforcement.
I thought this wasn't a federal issue, but a municipal and provincial one. I was wrong. It seems that what's driving this is the federal government's "use it or lose it" stimulus money. So, municipal leaders are trying their best to "use it".
That's no reason to be spending taxpayer dollars. The one and only rationale should be simply this: Does it make sense?
My vote is to ditch the expensive and complicated plan. And let's get back to some good, old-fashioned, common sense.
Dan Veniez
Davis Bay
