The mother of a 16-year-old who was seriously injured when a car hit him at the crosswalk at Rockland and Gazelle Road is speaking out about pedestrian safety in Campbell River.
Therena Carlin presented to the City of Campbell River council on Dec. 3, imploring them to do something to make the crosswalk safer for students after her teenage son was rushed to the hospital on Nov. 22 after 4:30 p.m. when the incident occurred. The crosswalk is just under a kilometre from Timberline Secondary School where students walk home from school.
"The car didn't see him. He went flying across the intersection," Carlin told the council. "It is a poorly lit road and yet there's nothing there that keeps our children safe when they go to and from school, or, even the bike path, there is no actual safe crossing for pedestrians."
Her son suffered five fractures to his pelvis and a fractured his tibia and ACL injury.
Const. Maury Tyre of the Campbell River RCMP said the driver remained at the scene and co-operated with the investigation.
Tyre said traffic incidents often result from inattention, intoxication, and violations of traffic rules, such as speed limits. He advised drivers to stay focused on the road and scan ahead for upcoming issues.
"Cellphones, in-car display screens and outside stressors of work, family concerns, all (tend) to pull a driver's focus from the road," he said. "It is of even more concern as it is darker so much sooner, and at the times when traffic is heaviest coming home from work."
Though unrelated to this incident, Tyre noted that pedestrians should be aware of their surroundings while crossing and stay off their phones. Wearing bright colours at night can enhance their safety.
Carlin told the Mirror she contacted the city and received a response from Andy Gaylor, the city's community planning and livability director. He told her plans are in the works under a three-year project to install bi-directional protected bike lanes on Rockland, from South Dogwood to South Alder Street.
"While not directly related to pedestrian safety, this would remove parking on one side of Rockland, which would narrow the travel lane and should slow cars down," he wrote in the email. "It will also add a buffer space for pedestrians and make them feel more comfortable walking along a busy road."
Gaylor added he has told staff to prioritize improvements to the existing crosswalk at Rockland and Gazelle Roads, which will begin early in the new year, with the goal of completing the project by spring.
Carlin said she is relieved about the plans but wonders how this issue has persisted for so long.
"You shouldn't expect people to wear reflective clothing just to walk home at night. It's unreasonable," she said. "The best thing we can do is make the infrastructure to force people to slow down. We can't take the bad out of a bad driver, but we can make it harder for them to be bad."
