I crossed Mount Newton X Road on East Saanich as a pedestrian twice in one day walking to and from the post office. I was almost hit both times by cars whose drivers do not seem to understand that pedestrians have the right of way.
A pedestrian should never have to share their lane with an automobile while they are in a crosswalk. To be fair one driver waved at me as she almost hit me, I suppose if one is hit by a car it will feel better laying in the hospital bed if it was a “friendly” hit.
From a pedestrian perspective the intersection is probably the worst one in the three municipalities. Actually Central Saanich has the distinction of being by far the least pedestrian friendly municipality compared to North Saanich and Sidney. Repeated concerns have been filed with the police in Central Saanich and the police still do nothing to control the intersection.
The reason can not be they don’t have the resources as it costs twice as much to police Central Saanich than either Sidney or North Saanich.
The police attitude to pedestrians in Central Saanich is no better than the Central Saanich municipal staff who almost appear to be encouraging vehicles to park on some of the nearly constructed walking paths along East Saanich.
It may surprise staff, but the money provided by the senior levels of government for the construction was for pedestrians and cyclists (healthy communities), not for overflow parking for multi-car families.
Norm Ryder
Central Saanich
