It's a start.
As residents rallied for Highway 101 safety improvements Monday morning, Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon announced a $1.5 million investment by the province over the next three years as part of the government's ongoing commitment to improving the safety of our highway.
The improvements will include such things as all-weather pavement markings, enhanced signage to raise the alertness level of drivers to potential safety hazards such as approaching curves, pedestrian and cyclist safety improvements, including widening the shoulders to allow more room for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles to share the road, pullouts for school and transit buses where needed and enhanced lighting where nighttime visibility is an issue.
We applaud Minister Falcon for finally listening to the residents of the Coast, but we ask that he not put away his cheque book quite yet.
There are still things that need to be addressed - namely the Gibsons highway bypass.
At Monday's rally, regional district director for Elphinstone Lorne Lewis showed a June 24, 1980 headline of a now defunct Sunshine Coast newspaper with the headline, "The Gibsons bypass is coming." Here we are in 2007, some 27 years later, and the bypass is not even on the radar of the transportation ministry. We know there are other highways in need around this province. With the 2010 Olympics just three years away, the province is focusing its efforts on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, another dangerous stretch of road that has seen more than its fair share of accidents and fatalities. But while the government continues to pour funds onto that stretch of road, they should start seriously thinking about Highway 101. The bypass could alleviate a lot of concerns. It would ease the congestion from ferry traffic and would improve conditions along Gibsons Way.
Monday's funding helps, but it's just a Band-Aid solution at best.
We have to continue to lobby the provincial government, continue to write letters to our MLA who can be our advocate in the legislature and continue to press all our local governments to continue to lobby.
The fight for better road safety has only just begun.
