Road Safety in Lake Country

On January 13 of this year, tragedy struck our community. A young life was taken unexpectedly due to a bizarre accident that, in other circumstances would not have occurred. Since then, the public has asked the District to put road safety on top of its priority list for capital infrastructure, especially new sidewalks and lights.

As things progress, I was asked by Council to provide an update, to them and to the public, of what has been done so far. Kate Berniaz, our Special Projects Coordinator has done a wonderful job in putting all the pieces together and in working with the Engineering Department and the public to speed things up.

Here's what she wrote to Council a couple of days ago:

"Mayor and Council,

The issue of pedestrian infrastructure and safety has been brought up a number of times by Council and individual councillors in the last two months. I want to provide an update to you about what staff is working on in regards to this issue.

For background, this is what has been undertaken already:
1. The 30k School Zone has passed 3rd reading and will be returning to Council for adoption April 6th. We are currently working on implementation and public relations plans.

2. The mayor and some councillors met with GESS students to receive the petition and explore pedestrian safety options. A report with a recommendation for a further meeting with the students will be coming to the Council meeting on April 6th.

3. Michael Mercer and I discussed the issue of students getting to and from school. Greg and I will be meeting next week with two GESS students involved in the sidewalk petition. We would like to get very specific feedback on the routes they take to school along Bottom Wood Lake Rd and Lodge Rd. We will then work with William to consider their concerns and feedback.

We are also planning to talk to the Traffic Safety Coordinator for the School District to get more information on bus routes (including limitations on pick-up area), active transportation plans the school district may have undertaken, and their safety concerns. These discussions could lead to more specific proposals around crosswalks, etc. in the area of schools.

4. Michael and I brought the issue of pedestrian infrastructure to the ‘Technical Planning Committee’ at the end of February. This is a staff committee made up of Development and Engineering to work on issues effecting both departments. We indicated that this is an interest and priority of Council and that all departments need to start thinking about it and possible proposals. The Committee met again today and Greg and Mark volunteered to work together and with their departments to provide information and ideas of pedestrian safety initiatives in the form of a discussion paper to Council. This should be completed over the next month.

5. There are a number of plans the District has undertaken that can be used as resources on this issue, including the Master Transportation Plan and OCP."

In addition, I have received some more information and comments by other members of staff reminding me that:

a. the Master Transportation Plan is designed to assist in setting priorities, including sidewalks and street lights in a phased approach and that staff will review the Plan in the next few weeks with Council; and

b. Some immediate improvements can and are be made but a knee jerk approach is not going to solve the problem.

The students we met with agreed that things cannot be done overnight and they have offered their assistance. The District will be pleased to work with them and the GESS Administration to address not only infrastructure issues but also common sense suggestions that can help in the future.
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