Pitt Meadows residents are petitioning council to improve road safety in South Bonson.
Lisa Ottenbreit is collecting names for a petition asking city hall to address traffic issues, and is most concerned with the corner of Bonson Road and Fraser Way.
“Because it’s a Gong Show,” she explained. “People don’t even slow down.”
She said there are cyclists and pedestrians frequently in the area, but with no stop sign for westbound traffic on Fraser Way there are dump trucks “careening” around that corner, she said.
Fraser Way is a gravel road, and there are numerous dump trucks coming and going from the BC Earth Exchange.
There is a gate at Bonson to block traffic from using Fraser Way, and the company keeps it locked except during its operating hours – 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“It’s not been thought through, in my opinion,” she said. “People have been complaining for years, but there’s been nothing done.”
Ottenbreit needs the signatures of half of the 192 residents in the vicinity to effect change, and since she put her message out “the response has been overwhelming” from people across the community who know the corner, she said.
The posted speed limit on Bonson Road in the area is 30 km/h, but many drivers don’t take their foot off the gas, she said, adding that houses shake when the fully loaded dump trunks bomb through the area.
She will suggest traffic calming measures along Bonson, and would like a raised intersection – or at least another stop sign.
“The danger is that corner, and it is made more dangerous by the trucks,” she said. “It’s an obvious issue. It’s a no-brainer, and I think it will be dealt with.”
Mayor John Becker said a good way to handle this issue is for the city to deal directly with the involved business, and for it to communicate with truck drivers.He said there should be an education process and enforcement.
Council is reluctant to install traffic calming measures at public request, particularly where it involves arterial routes.
“If we indulged everyone who came in with complaints about traffic, we would have speed bumps in front of every home,” said Becker.