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LETTER: Pitt Meadows residents urged to speak out over removal of traffic calming on Park Road

Local writer says city is looking at increasing the speed limit in residential area
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Darlene Mercer was one of the residents calling for traffic calming measures in her neighbourhood back in 2014. (The News files)

Dear Editor,

What does safety look like on the ground, on the street? It can be many things, but in every Metro Vancouver municipality, it means the installation of vertical and other traffic calming devices to slow traffic at strategic points, even on collector routes (I know because I have called many municipalities) to slow motorists, giving them more time to check and slow for pedestrians crossing, and give pedestrians a bit more time and safety cushion for crossing a street.

Here in Pitt Meadows many of us are shocked at city staff recommendations (at council Nov. 29) to remove speed cushions (vertical traffic calming devices to allow for wider axled vehicles to go by unimpeded), remove two solar-powered LED ‘flashing’ stop signs at Bonson and Park, and put the speed back up to 50 km/h from its current 30.

As well they will remove what we find as a frivolous use of ‘no parking’ signs 10 metres either side of each speed cushion installation (apparently our fire trucks cannot manage what every other municipality’s fire trucks can).

Park Road is a family neighbourhood – no businesses front it, and there are significant road curves at either end. There is a busy elementary school just in behind the houses that front Park, as well as an active sporting field and treed park much used by seniors, families, and children. The two crosswalks (Bonson, Somerset) are busy, particularly when school is coming in, or going out and always during the summer.

Over the 20 some odd years we have been here and raised our family, there have been many near misses for families and individuals crossing Park due to speeding traffic, drivers ‘not seeing’ pedestrians, and certainly not slowing for pedestrians. It is not unusual for errant balls from driveway hoops, etc., to roll onto the road, and cyclists, skateboarders and scooters as well as scooters for the elderly, abound.

Traffic calming is a 24/7 solution to slow traffic. So what are the reasons so far that the city has stated that it wants these hard-fought for measures removed? Because it has reduced speed and traffic along the section of Park Road they are installed in.

It is doing its’ assigned job! (And the residents all along Park Road right up to the train station who signed the petition were very keen indeed to have speeding cars that don’t watch for pedestrians slowed down! Unfortunately the city would only do a small section of Park Road as a ‘trial’).

What is staff’s recommendation? That ‘enforcement’ be increased and these measures removed. We have seen that movie here on Park and everyone knows that a police presence cannot be situated on the street 24/7.

That is fantasy area thinking, and if that was the solution, why isn’t there a police presence everywhere in every municipality 24/7?

Why have they all installed in strategic and problem areas traffic calming, particularly vertical (humps) and flashing, pedestrian-controlled lights? Why, when I spent weeks calling the engineering departments of municipalities and fire chiefs that they all regarded these as vital safety measures that were no problem to their emergency vehicles – they dealt with it, knowing that it was worth it to keep one more pedestrian or traffic fatality or injury from happening.

I encourage everyone in Pitt Meadows who is impacted by this to go to the council meeting Nov. 29. Say ‘no’ to the removal of traffic calming on Park and ‘yes’ to have more strategic placements in many neighbourhoods and areas that have been petitioning councils for years.

Darlene Mercer, Pitt Meadows

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• READ MORE: Traffic calming work starts in 2019 on Park Road corridor

• READ MORE: Pitt neighbourhood wants speed humps - August 2014

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