Editor:
Well, maybe we’ve finally reached the requisite number of pedestrian fatalities on the stretch of road between Poplars and Woodcreek Park to prompt some action.
The Woodcreek Park Neighbourhood Association was formed to advocate for a safe crossing of the highway to and from the bus stop at Oceanview Drive after a vibrant senior was fatally struck trying to cross on a dark, rainy night in 2016.
Sure, she was old, and she miscalculated. A 12-year-old girl had been killed trying to cross at Poplars in 2007. She was young, and she miscalculated.
Concerns were raised at the time of her death about highway speeds and the lack of safe pedestrian crossings at these two locations. Now a young man—neither a senior nor a child — is dead. I guess he miscalculated too.
It rains here. It gets dark at night. We cannot control these things.
People getting off the bus will try to dart across the highway when they see an opening in the ferry traffic, rather than stand for 20 minutes getting soaked by passing semis. I know. I’ve done it. Most parents in Woodcreek forbid their kids to cross to the bus stop, which explains our poor use of the transit system.
Poplars and Woodcreek, with more than 140 homes in each development, access the highway at one main intersection each — neither with traffic lights. It’s dangerous for cars entering the flow of traffic at 80kph. And as we knew 18 years ago, it can be fatal for pedestrians.
Thanks to Bronwyn Beairsto for her excellent coverage of this issue, and to our wonderful neighbourhood champion, Sandy Cunningham, for continuing to be the squeaky wheel in Woodcreek. Please, let’s not wait for anyone else to “miscalculate” before we fix these death traps.
Claire Finlayson
Elphinstone
