Safety first - and please communicate
at Pat Bay and Sayward

To read about the meeting held 29 Feb. 2012, please click here.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure must engage in meaningful community consultation before plans are drawn up for changes to the Patricia Bay Highway and Sayward Road - as well as at 'open houses' after plans are prepared for public reaction.

This message was delivered to the ministry before a standing-room-only audience of 115 residents by speakers at a public safety forum on June 15/2010 organized by Saanich South MLA Lana Popham at Cordova Bay Community Place.

The Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) has been campaigning for more than a year for 'safety first' fixes at the intersection which is one of the most dangerous in terms of crashes on Vancouver Island.

Recently, the ministry disclosed that it is planning some changes at the intersection and will present them at 'open houses' for public comment. But speakers including Wayne Christmas, chairperson of the CBA traffic committee, said the ministry should consider public opinion before making plans by organizing a public input forum - as well as afterwards. He also said changes should improve safety and not increase cut-through traffic within Cordova Bay.

Members of the public gave a number of ideas for changes at the intersection. Popham said she has received many responses to her opinion survey and promised that all communications that she receives will be delivered to the ministry and to Saanich municipality - ahead of plans being finalized by the ministry. The survey is available on her website: www.saanichsouth.ca

Patrick Livolsi, the ministry's regional director for the south coast, said a consultant has been engaged to review past traffic reports and identify a long-term strategy as well as what can be done now to reduce accidents. The consultant will work with Saanich municipality. He hoped changes will include a park-and-ride facility. He promised the highway won't be increased to six lanes - it will stay at four lanes.

"We are trying to pare down options to the public for feed-back for small-scale improvements," he said. He noted that 68 per cent of accidents are rear-enders and they occur at the approaches to the intersection as well as at the intersection.

The ministry first disclosed last March on CBC Radio that it hopes to have plans ready for public comment this fall, "safety mitigation measures" short of an interchange that would significantly reduce the accident record. The cost might be $2 to $3 million.

Coun. Judy Brownoff, Saanich council's liaison with the ministry (along with Coun. Leif Wergeland, who lives in Cordova Bay and who attended the meeting as well as several other councillors), said council has emphasized that the ministry must engage the public - "There has to be true meaningful engagement. This community wants meaningful consultation."

When one speaker asked if the ministry would be willing to form a consultation committee, Livolsi said "We'll take that under consideration."

Coun. Brownoff said the Pat Bay/Sayward intersection is the second-worst in Saanich for accidents (using ICBC figures) - and surprised the audience by identifying the worst as Wilkinson Road/Interurban Road which she said has a lot of traffic cutting through between Patricia Bay Highway and Trans-Canada Highway.

She said Saanich Police have told her that speed is not a factor in most accidents at Pat Bay/Sayward. The biggest issues are inattentiveness by drivers and following too closely. Most accidents occur in the afternoon.

One speaker said the community needs to decide whether or not it is prepared to accept an interchange (as forecast in several traffic reports) - and if not, the discussion would go in another direction. Comments at the meeting indicated support for safety measures at the present intersection but not an interchange or "grade level separation" as it was sometimes called.

Popham concluded the meeting by again stating that all opinions that she receives from the public will be delivered to the ministry and Saanich. "This is just the beginning of community consultation," she said.
(News item provided by Roger Stonebanks, former president of the CBA.)

**A quick but important survey from Lana Popham, MLA Saanich South**

"Dear Neighbours,
As you likely know, the intersection at the Pat Bay Highway and Sayward Road is very dangerous and in urgent need of safety improvements.

Recently, there have been several serious accidents here. There were over sixty accidents at this intersection in 2009, with twenty of them involving casualties!

More than one year ago, a government-commissioned report strongly recommended specific and low-cost improvements.

And yet, the government is not acting.

Please help me! Take a few minutes to complete this short survey. I will share the information gathered with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Your contribution will help me persuade the government to act now.

I will not stop working on this file until significant improvements are made.

Thank you,
Lana, MLA Saanich South"

Lana's website is: www.saanichsouth.com

Safety first at Pat Bay/Sayward intersection

The CBA has told highways officials that it is “well past time” that safety improvements are implemented at the dangerous intersection of Patricia Bay Highway and Sayward Road.

Safety improvements for less than half a million dollars

A current traffic safety report states that short-and-medium-term measures to improve safety at the notoriously dangerous intersection of Patricia Bay Highway and Sayward Road would cost – only $381,000. And the report said the changes should be considered for implementation.

The report by Opus Hamilton of Vancouver into collision-prone locations in BC was done last February for the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the ministry released to the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) the portion dealing with Sayward Road.

To read the extract from the full report, please click here. There is a good introduction and mention of all intersections on Patricia Bay Highway. However, to read specifically about the Sayward intersection, go to Appendix A, Collision Prone Location 1, Highway 17 and Sayward Road on page 27.

The long-term option for Patricia Bay Highway/Sayward Road intersection is a “grade separation” (interchange) to allow north-south traffic to proceed without stopping. The estimated cost is $18 million but the report said this should not be considered for implementation.

The report details the accident experience at this intersection. A separate report by ICBC released to the CBA shows that 80 per cent of accidents are rear-enders. The Opus Hamilton report said there is a concentration of rear-end collisions on the northbound approach to Sayward Road. The primary contributing factor to collisions, according to police, is motorists driving without due care and attention (34 per cent) and following too closely (22 per cent).

Among the significant changes recommended by Opus Hamilton are: provide an eastbound to southbound right-turn acceleration lane; construct a median on Sayward Road eastbound to restrict left-turn movement from the Petro-Canada gas station, and provide a U-Turn; improve access management for all gas station driveways and consider constructing a backage road; relocate the bus stops on the highway.

The CBA, in a “safety-first” campaign, has urged the ministry, Saanich municipality, ICBC and the CRD Traffic Safety Commission to get together and (1) examine the causes of accidents (this has largely been done in the Opus Hamilton report); (2) develop safety improvements to solve or mitigate the situation; (3) encourage the general public to provide input/ideas.

In a communication on June 15 to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the District of Saanich, ICBC and the CRD Traffic Safety Commission, the CBA noted that the intersection is considered one of the most dangerous on Vancouver Island.

According to ICBC, there were 60 crashes in 2008 – 20 of them involving “casualty” (death or injury) and 40 property damage-only. The rounded-out accident figures from ICBC show little change year to year since 2004.

The CBA said it is “very concerned at the high level of accidents” at this intersection and asked authorities: “Why is this happening? From the answers to this question should emerge potential solutions or, at the very least, some mitigation of the current number of crashes and the resulting deaths, injuries and property damage.”

The CBA urged the authorities to:

1. Urgently examine the causes of these accidents, where precisely they occur, and at what time of the day or night.
2. From that examination, develop safety improvements to solve or mitigate this situation.
3. Encourage the general public to provide input/ideas.

“The first emphasis, we recommend, should be to examine the highway itself as it passes through the intersection and on the east side of the highway in terms of how traffic gets on and off the highway,” said the CBA.

“The over-riding principles for all proposed changes, in our opinion, should be safety and not encouraging north-south traffic to cut through roads within Cordova Bay.”

The CBA received a very supportive letter dated June 17 from Colin Doyle, Director of Engineering for Saanich. He stated:

“The Municipality shares the community association’s concerns regarding safety at this busy intersection and the need to consider alternatives or improvements to the existing intersection design and operation.

“While we do not have intimate knowledge regarding the engineering aspects of this intersection, the Municipality is responsible for the policing of the area. I have taken the liberty of discussing this with the Saanich Police and they confirm that the area is one of concern for them.

“We agree that, in the absence of a definitive plan for the construction of a grade separated crossing, there is a need to look at how the existing risks inherent in the at-grade intersection can be mitigated. This could be achieved through an access management plan, signal and signing changes or other means. Whatever the final outcome, it is clear that the first step is, as suggested in your letter, an examination of the factors contributing to the high accident rate at this location. We fully support this approach.”

Doyle concluded by sending a copy of his letter to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to confirm Saanich’s “support for the community’s position on this important issue.”

Patricia Bay Highway – upgrades later rather than sooner

Transportation and Infrastructure Minister, Kevin Falcon, told the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) on March 13/09 that public input will precede any major proposed changes to the Patricia Bay Highway. But his comments indicated that major changes throughout the highway are likely some time off.

He said the Highway 17 Corridor Study (scroll down the “News” page on this website to the item headlined “Interchanges recommended for Pat Bay Highway” for a summary and the full report) - “is a long-term strategy for future development along this route, ensuring we are ready for future growth and opportunities in this corridor. The projects described in the study will be considered over time and as funding priorities permit.

“My ministry continues to work extensively with the peninsula municipalities to refine this strategy. Currently, we’re working with the Victoria Airport Authority on potential improvements to the McTavish Road/Highway 17 intersection.

“Please be assured that any major decisions, such as the construction of an interchange, will include seeking public input. At that time, all stakeholders, including your association, will have the opportunity to become involved.”

The CBA earlier wrote to Minister Falcon urging “a full, transparent and public input process” when the ministry decides to propose upgrades to Patricia Bay Highway through Cordova Bay, a position supported by Saanich Mayor, Frank Leonard.

The CBA has recognized that highway upgrades will come sometime given two traffic consultant reports in 2001 and 2007 that recommended freewaying from Cordova Bay to Swartz Bay by closing road and driveway accesses in favour of specific interchanges.

The over-riding principles, the CBA told Minister Falcon and Mayor Leonard, for proposed changes should be safety without encouraging north-south traffic to cut through roads within Cordova Bay.

**Interchanges recommended for Pat Bay Highway**

An updated report for the Patricia Bay Highway recommends “preferred interchange locations” at Sayward Road, Mount Newton Cross Road, McTavish Road, Beacon Avenue, Wain Road and Lands End Road.

The report, by Urban Systems Ltd to the Ministry of Transportation and entitled “Highway 17 Corridor Planning Strategy”, builds on a 2001 report called “Vision For Highway 17.”

It was developed as a result of meetings over the last few years by the ministry as well as a steering committee comprised of Saanich Peninsula municipalities and BC Transit, BC Ferries and the Victoria International Airport Authority.

The report lists Claremont Avenue and Haliburton Road as “options for interchange locations.” One “concept” has a Haliburton Road overpass with Claremont Avenue “right-in, right-out” and the second concept reverses this with a Claremont Avenue overpass and Haliburton Road “right-in, right-out.” More work was needed to advance either concept, the report said, as well as further examination with area communities and other agencies.

The report recommends closing all accesses, roads and driveways, except for designated interchanges. In Cordova Bay the report (Page 25) identifies for closure - Piedmont Drive, Cordova Bay Road, Hamsterley Road, Sayward Road (west side), Wells Road and Old East Road. The weigh scale would need to be relocated. Traffic movement at the rowing club, however, would be permitted by a right-in, right-out movement.

As far as highway improvements are concerned, the report said there are “no shelf-ready projects to be advanced without significantly more planning and design.”

Saanich Mayor, Frank Leonard, told the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) that “any time and every time I hear that the MoT would like to meet with myself or council/councillors – I ask that they book a hall in Cordova Bay and meet the community first.”

No action has been taken on the report and the B.C. government has not allocated any money for changes to the highway. Nevertheless, the report is a look at what may happen to the highway. The previously-unpublished report, dated April 2007, was found by the CBA in an internet search.

The report is 55 pages long with eight pages of appendices To read the full report, please open this link, and click on: 2007-03-15-Final_Report_Hwy17_Corridor_Strategy.pdf. - or by Google: “highway 17 corridor planning strategy.”