After the second fatal accident of 2019 between Leigh Road and the West Shore Parkway, the government of B.C. is looking at short-term options to improve safety in the area.
An accident on the Trans-Canada Highway near Leigh Road on Sunday claimed the life of a 24-year-old man, and was the second fatal head-on collision in the area in under one month.
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The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) said it is working with RCMP to determine what caused the crashes, and will use that information to inform potential short-term engineering options to improve safety.
This comes after the province previously committed to long-term upgrades of the roadway back in 2016.
B次元官网网址淎ny consideration of short-term improvements will need to complement existing long-term design work that has already been completed, which includes four-laning this two-kilometre section of highway between Leigh Road and West Shore Parkway and adding median barriers,B次元官网网址� MOTI stated.
The province is still in the midst of the McKenzie interchange project B次元官网网址� roughly 15 kilometres away from Leigh Road. In the fall, the provincial government completed the Malahat Village Safety Improvement project B次元官网网址� less than 10 kilometres from the intersection of Highway 1 and West Shore Parkway.
B次元官网网址淣ow that these important projects have been completed or are nearing completion, we anticipate moving forward with other safety priorities in the region, including the Leigh Road four-laning and median barrier project,B次元官网网址� MOTI stated.
Langford Mayor Stew Young has been vocal in advocating for safety upgrades for a number of years. He says the changes are an emergency priority and sees no need to wait for an RCMP investigation.
B次元官网网址淭he most important thing they can do right now is put up the barriers,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭his is absolutely [about] safety, I donB次元官网网址檛 care about reports or the studies.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭wo deaths is enough intelligence for me to know a barrier needs to be there,B次元官网网址� he added.
Young was frustrated by mention of the McKenzie interchange and Malahat safety project B次元官网网址� which he said have no relevance to the safety emergency happening just kilometres away.
B次元官网网址淲hen thereB次元官网网址檚 an actual emergency situation we have to act as politicians and get it done.B次元官网网址�
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nina.grossman@blackpress.ca
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