A Saanich woman is determined to halt plans for a new bus shelter outside her home on Cadboro Bay Road.
Margaret Vey said in an interview she plans to file legal action against the proposed installation of a bus shelter near her home not far from the road’s intersection with Cherrilee Crescent on the way to the Ten Mile Point area. The shelter would enhance an existing bus stop outside her home.
“I figure I have come this far, I’m not going to back down now,” she said Tuesday afternoon, while she was still looking for a lawyer to take on the case. But Vey also said that she has “big guns” waiting in the wings, and plans to call them.
Time is of the essence for Vey. Plans call for crews to install the shelter on Friday, Jan. 12, according to a letter dated Jan. 5 from Sandra Liddell, engineering supervisor at the District of Saanich.
Vey said her “primary reason” for opposing the shelter is safety. Design drawings for the shelter show a bulge protruding into Cadboro Bay Road.
“This short, unexpected change to the curb would become a serious safety hazard to cars, cyclists and buses, as well as my use of the driveway, which I use most days, often several times,” she said in a letter to Saanich council.
Vey, who has lived in her home for 60 years, said drivers frequently speed through the sharp corner near her home, and the addition of a “short, unexpected obstruction” into a “very busy road” would threaten the safety of local residents, many of whom are families with young children.
By her own account, vehicles travelling through the area have lost control at her property three times, said Vey, who is recommending that the shelter move from its proposed location outside her house to a recently established crosswalk across Cadboro Bay Road at Gyro Park some 50-plus metres away.
Vey also laments the lack of consultation. She found out about the proposal through happenstance, and has since informed her immediate neighbours, four of whom have written letters on her behalf.
Liddell said in a letter dated Nov. 28 that increased ridership, proximity to the recently installed Gyro Park crosswalk, and proximity to existing street lighting led to the chosen location. “Improving the stop fronting your property also gives us the opportunity to improve the existing sidewalk width to allow for safe accessible use to people of all [mobility levels].”
Liddell said in a letter dated Jan. 5 that the design would actually improve traffic safety. “It is not uncommon to have narrowing of the roadway using curb extensions at bus stops; this has been used successfully around the CRD. Additionally, we have found that the inclusion of curb extensions to be an effective traffic calming measure.”
Vey does not buy it, and plans to be at her home all day Friday in anticipation of crews, if even it means skipping her daily trip to the pool for her swimming exercises.
