Tofino's summer traffic has been slowed by two new 4-way stops along Campbell Street.
Two Campbell Street intersections between Fourth and First Street recently evolved from 2-way stops to 4-way stops.
Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne said the decision to halt traffic more frequently along the freshly upgraded Campbell Street was in the hands of the Province.
"Campbell Street is under provincial jurisdiction and as such it's their decision to change the posted speed or traffic control measures like stop signs," Osborne said.
"As part of the Campbell Street upgrade, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure approved the installation of 4-way stops at the two intersections between Fourth and First."
A statement at press time from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure seemed to lay the signs at the District's feet.
"The District of Tofino's replaced these signs with new stop signs as part of their recent upgrades on Highway 4," the statement said.
"Tofino's upgrades also included converting the two-way intersections at Campbell and 2nd and Campbell and 3rd to four-way stops to improve safety and consistency for drivers," the statement said.
"These upgrades were approved by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and supported by the RCMP. "
While some locals have taken to social media to express disdain for the additional traffic halts Osborne said positive feedback has also been heard.
"I've received a lot of positive feedback from pedestrians who feel safer to bus drivers who tell me it's much easier to enter the traffic flow," she said.
It's not just drivers who will be hitting the brakes more often as cyclists are reminded that the stop signs apply to them as well.
"(Bicyclists) have to come to a complete stop; they are a vehicle on the road," said local RCMP staffer Lindsay Barlow.
Barlow said cyclists can choose to leave the road and enter the crosswalk as a pedestrian but they must dismount before crossing with the other walkers.
"If they're on the road they have to come to a complete stop and then they can cycle through the intersection but if they decide to take the crosswalk they have to dismount their bike and walk it across with the pedestrians," she said.
Along with the safety risks associated with blowing through stop signs, cyclists who fail to stop also run the risk of being issued a $109 ticket.
Barlow recounted working in a building in Vancouver that was located on 10th and Main, a busy intersection for bicyclists who were frequently ticketed for ignoring stop signs.
"We used to look out our window at the office and watch people get ticketed for not stopping at the stop sign on their bikes," she said, "and there were multiple times as a pedestrian that I almost got smoked by people because it was a bike road and they would just zip right through."
reporter@westerlynews.ca