Over the past four weeks, the lives of at least four cyclists and pedestrians have been lost in separate vehicle collisions on Vancouver Island.
At the busy Saanich crosswalk at Quadra Street and Greenridge Crescent, a cyclist was struck by the driver of a pickup truck and critically injured July 28. She died Monday, Aug. 3 from her injuries.
Flowers left at the roadside include a card that reads, “To Sylvie, you will be missed.”
READ PREVIOUS: Cyclist dies after collision in Saanich: BC Coroners Service
Dean Murdock, mayor of Saanich, said this tragedy reinforces how important it is to proactively take steps to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on the roads.
“I’m incredibly saddened by this tragedy. This is a person who was killed using one of our roads. They didn’t make it home to their family,” Murdock said.
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It’s one of a number of deadly collisions involving vulnerable road users in the last four weeks on the Island.
On July 15, an 83-year-old Courtenay woman died when she was hit by a semi-truck near Comox while cycling.
Two weeks later, on July 29, at the intersection of Esquimalt Road and Head Street a collision involving a pedestrian and the driver of a vehicle. The pedestrian died as a result of their injuries.
Also on July 29, a man died after the driver of a vehicle struck him as he was lying in the middle of the road in the 200-block of St. George Street.
According to ICBC, every year in BC an average of seven cyclists, and 53 pedestrians are killed in collisions.
READ ALSO: ‘Such a tragedy’: Cycling community grieves after three deaths in one week
Municipalities are working to improve safety for all road users.
In Victoria, for instance, the timing of lights have been altered in 30-intersections that give pedestrians a five second head start while crossing.
Richard Adam, acting assistant director of transportation and engineering for the City of Victoria, said leading pedestrian intervals are designed to increase the security of pedestrians in the intersection.
“You’ll see the pedestrian walk light come up three to five seconds before the green light for traffic. Again, that just allows the pedestrian to get a head start into the intersection. And it’s particularly effective in managing conflicts between turning vehicles, and those pedestrians,” Adam said.
And it’s proven to reduce collisions by up to 60 per cent. Murdock says Saanich is working on improving safety measures for vulnerable road users.
“Our road safety action plan spells out a number of actions that we are taking as a district across the community, whether those are infrastructure improvements, design improvements, speed reduction and better enforcement to ensure that people are safe in whatever way they get around,” Murdock said.
Saanich Police continue to ask that anyone who witnessed the July 28 collision, or who may have dashcam footage, to please contact their non-emergency number at 250-475-4321.