A crosswalk slated for the top of Ucluelet’s Blueberry Hill might end up being more of a liability than a solution to safety concerns, according to Ucluelet Coun. Sally Mole.
Mole raised concern about the proposed crosswalk during Oct’ 25’s council meeting and suggested council take a walkabout of the area to assess the proposed crosswalk’s implications.
She noted the hill’s steep climb up Marine Drive to Edwards Place, where the crosswalk would go, is tough enough to maneuver without worrying about kids crossing.
“That’s my scary point,” she said. “There’s a lot of kids in the area and I know, myself driving, all I’m doing is focusing on is getting over the road and staying on the road; I’m not looking for kids crossing a crosswalk.”
District CAO Andrew Yeates said pedestrian safety is a concern at that corner because a walkway along Edwards plunks pedestrians into the middle of Marine.
“That’s the problem. We’re trying to figure out what to do with that intersection to deal with that because we don’t want kids walking down the sidewalk and ending up on the road,” Yeates said.
“We have to move that pedestrian traffic one way or another.”
Mole suggested a crosswalk would be the wrong way to move.
“I understand what Mr. Yeates is saying and, yes, it does spill out onto the road. But, it’s also a hill that scares me as far as kids on bikes, and me on bikes, goes,” she said. Council agreed to take a walking tour of the area in search of solutions.