Westhills residents are frustrated with the speed and carelessness of some drivers in the development behind Belmont Secondary school.
Pierre-Luc Levesque and Shantel Hume are neighbours who moved to Westhills seven years ago.
Hume said because of the Jacklin Road closure, which is tentatively scheduled to reopen in mid-July, drivers are taking a shortcut through their neighbourhood.
Both of her vehicles have been sideswiped while parked within the last month. While only the driver’s side mirror was hit in the first incident, the camper on her truck was hit and totalled the second time.
She doesn’t know if ICBC will cover the cost of a new one and with the nice weather she said she would like to be out camping.
“It’s been expensive, inconvenient and unsafe,” Hume said, adding, “I don’t feel safe getting in and out of my car, parking on the street.”
She is cautious when turning into her driveway, because with the bend and hill on Alouette Drive, people driving at high speeds and low visibility, it makes it hard to react in time.
West Shore RCMP Const. Matt Baker said the local detachment’s records don’t indicate that many vehicles have been hit in that area.
He encouraged residents to report any damage to their vehicles, noting “public input is crucial for us to identify priorities for our resources and increase traffic safety and pedestrian safety.”
Levesque said since he moved into the area, traffic has gradually gotten worse, but after the Jacklin Road closure he noticed a difference overnight. He said people are picking up speed by Glen Lake Road and come up Alouette Drive.
“You have to keep your kid at arm’s length, because it’s dangerous.”
He added overgrown vegetation on Alouette Drive and Langford Lake Road is another hazard that makes it difficult to see.
Baker noted the West Shore RCMP’s traffic unit does enforcement at the entrance and exit of Alouette Drive and from their observations, vehicles are not travelling at excessive speeds. But the design of the road and the congestion with cars parked along one side and driveways on the other side are the issues. “Those factors give the impression of vehicles travelling much faster than the speed limit allows, but in fact, they are not,” he added.
Hume and Levesque said local residents have asked the City of Langford to install speed bumps, which the City declined because it will slow down and can damage emergency vehicles.
Baker noted the traffic unit will be increasing enforcement in the area of Alouette Drive and residents can contact the West Shore RCMP to join Citizens on Patrol, a volunteer speed watch program.
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