The serene beauty that can be found on the quiet, country roads that wind their way through rural Saanich belies the dangers that may lie just around the next corner.
Those dangers have led to the formation of a new group, Livable Roads for Rural Saanich, who want to see action to improve the safety on a collection of rural roads, including but not limited to Prospect Lake Road, Sparton Road, Goward Road, West Saanich Road, Old West Saanich Road and Oldfield Road.
The group contends too many rural Saanich residents aren’t able to safely use the roads they live on, which have attracted so-called “rat-runners” looking to dodge the backups on major arteries during peak traffic times.
“You can see it during rush hour when it [traffic] stacks up,” said group member John Potter. “It’s people coming off the Trans-Canada Highway, and coming off the Island Highway that come up Prospect Lake Road and wiggle through, either going up West Saanich [Road] or through Sparton [Road], travelling north up the Peninsula, because it is just plain quicker for them.”
Of particular concern are trucks with a gross vehicle weight (GVW) rating in excess of 5,500 kilograms that use Oldfield Road as a shortcut to Central Saanich in violation of Saanich’s trucking bylaw.
Livable Roads for Rural Saanich has performed a valuable service for the community in bringing this matter to the forefront. But in many ways, that was the easy part – finding a solution promises to be a much more complicated process.
But all journeys begin with the first step. Livable Roads has taken that step. Now officials with the district, Saanich council and police must follow through to come up with the best options to improve safety on rural roads. Coun. Colin Plant, who chairs the Capital Regional District’s traffic safety commission, should play a key role. A meeting between all interested parties should be scheduled to map out the best course for safer rural roads in Saanich.