Two nights ago, another New Westminster pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on McBride Boulevard, and died of their injuries. My heart aches for the person who died, their bereaved family, and the driver or drivers involved who are no doubt dealing with their own trauma today. Everyone is harmed by an incident like this, including our first responders who yet again have to respond to tragedy.
We don’t know the details of this tragic incident, and cannot rush to judgment, but this is the third serious incident involving pedestrians in less than six months on this one-kilometre stretch of McBride, all with differing causes and impacts. We need to take action on the common thread.
With that in mind, I will be calling on ICBC to immediately install intersection cameras at two key intersections in New Westminster, and for the Minister of Public Safety to expeditiously act on the calls from UBCM member municipalities to give local governments the authority to install and operate these life-saving interventions, so that our city can take quick action to save more lives moving forward.
McBride Boulevard is a part of Highway 1A, a provincially regulated truck route and key connection to the Pattullo Bridge for regional commuters. It is also a local-serving road that connects New Westminster residents to key destinations, including schools, shopping and recreation areas. The intersections of McBride with Sixth and Eighth avenues are important crossroads in our community for all modes of travel, and New Westminster residents need to feel safe when using them.
Along with this recent spike in serious incidents where pedestrians were killed or seriously injured, residents are sharing their numerous anecdotes of drivers far exceeding the 50 km/h speed limit on McBride and ignoring the existing traffic lights in these heavily travelled intersections with frightening regularity.
We must work to assure it is safe for New Westminster residents to move around in their city. Engineering improvements to McBride are already being considered following a recent intersection safety review. With the upcoming opening of an expanded (and safer!) replacement for the Pattullo Bridge, we will be engaging with the Ministry of Transportation to determine what speed control measures are required to assure there won’t be negative impacts on vulnerable road users as new traffic patterns emerge. However, engineering alone cannot change the dangerous behaviours that are resulting in death and injury on our streets.
This year, the City of New Westminster is launching a Vision Zero task force to bring partners in from all provincial and municipal agencies involved in local road safety to change the culture of road safety in New Westminster, with a vision to put an end to these unnecessary injuries and deaths. In the meantime, we can still take action in areas where we know immediate intervention is possible.
Intersection and speed cameras save lives and reduce injuries. This is why ICBC funds the Integrated Safety Camera Program. With 140 cameras provincewide, it is insufficient to the current need, and local governments are not empowered to install cameras where we identify safety concerns in our communities.
Give us the cameras, and we will save lives.
Three serious pedestrian incidents in a six-month period should be a wake-up call to everyone. Drivers need to slow down and follow the rules of the road, and governments have to work together to make the engineering and enforcement interventions we know will save lives. I’ll be delivering this message straight to the B.C. government when I meet with elected officials in Victoria next month.
Stay safe out there folks.
- Patrick Johnstone, Mayor of New Westminster
