Editor:
Re: Residents call Stayte of emergency, Aug. 23.
On Friday and Saturday of last week, I witness two incidents of drivers running the stop sign at Stayte Road and Pacific/10 Avenue.
One resulted in a near accident, the other not so lucky.
While walking home from the beach with my two dogs on Friday afternoon, I saw a young man run the stop sign heading eastbound on Pacific. A woman driving southbound on Stayte had to swerve radically to avoid the oncoming car and ended up on the sidewalk.
Thankfully, she missed colliding with the other driver by mere inches and – double thankfully – she also missed me and my dogs on the sidewalk by about 10 feet.
Everyone was shaken by the experience, apologies were made and sighs of relief were expressed that no one was harmed.
The very next evening, while my husband and I were enjoying a glass of wine in our backyard, the sound of a speeding car, screeching tires, broken glass and a horn blaring quickly jarred us out of our bliss.
I told my husband to dial 911 and ran out the door in my bare feet towards the accident.
There, at the corner of Stayte and Pacific was a serious two-car collision with an SUV flipped upside-down teetering on a fire hydrant. Fellow neighbours and witnesses helped the best they could until the White Rock and Surrey fire departments arrived to tend to the injured.
The fact that accidents happen frequently at this corner – see Five taken to hospital in White Rock crash, May 17 Peace Arch News – is disturbing enough, but witnessing two incidents in two days seems sadly serendipitous.
It is a cautionary tale, a strong message that changes are needed in the form of calming circles and traffic lights to make our quiet beachside community a whole lot safer and potentially save lives.
Please join me in writing both the cities of Surrey and White Rock with your concerns about the intersection at Stayte Road and Pacific/10 Avenue.
Julie Thorsen, Surrey
