VOTE JOHN DACOMBE FOR COURTENAY COUNCIL

Pedestrian safety

Our current Council credit has done an excellent job increasing the number of rapid flashing beacon crosswalks in Courtenay during their term, improving pedestrian safety in these locations by 80-95%.

But even after expensive “upgrades”, kids are still walking to Vanier Secondary on the side of a road with traffic speeding past, protected only by a white line. Peer-reviewed studies show that "Reducing injury risk to vulnerable child road users is as simple as separating children in time and space from speeding motor vehicles."

And that’s just one location where our kids are unnecessarily exposed to risk because of poor design and speed, the two biggest factors in the death and injury of children from vehicles.

I address enforcement elsewhere in my platform, and design solutions don’t have to be expensive. In fact, in some cases, cement barrier blocks creating walking paths separated from traffic would provide more protection, cost a fraction of sidewalks, and could be installed in days, not months. If elected and if this idea is supported by the parents of Vanier students, I will introduce a motion in the first 100 days to do exactly that along Headquarters Road.

And we need to close the gaps in our pedestrian infrastructure, which is only as good as its weakest link. That's going to mean being very loud with BC MOTT, who own and control many of the most dangerous locations in Courtenay for both active transportation and vehicle users.

Most importantly, I will listen to the advice of local residents about unsafe pedestrian locations throughout the City. Local residents know best where the unsafe spots are.