A car crashed into a Central Saanich home on Sunday (Feb. 23) afternoon, after careening down the driveway and narrowly missing a hydro pole.
Witnesses say the car barrelled around the corner at the top of Tanner Road, blasted through some shrubs and landed close to the doorstep of a house, hitting its front room bay window.
"It happened around 3 p.m.," according to homeowner Randy, who lives in one of the 12 houses on Tanner Road.
He was sitting in the living room with his son that afternoon when they heard a loud crash.
"I was wondering what the heck happened because we just had an earthquake. Then I looked in the room and saw the wall pushed in and the dressers and everything were all turned over, so then we knew something happened.”
The homeowner says it could have been worse, but he's relieved they were not sitting close to the bay window when the car crashed into their house and no one inside was injured.
Neighbour Cindi Lew thinks the driver may have mistaken the gas pedal for the brake because there were no skid marks.
“It was at least a seven-foot drop,” she said.
Sunday's crash is just the latest of a dozen that have occurred on the 300-metre stretch of Tanner Road in the last three years, according to Lew.
"That makes all 12 homes in the 2300 block on Tanner Road that had a car flip in the yard or in the ditch, or block a driveway," reads a post on Saanichton's Facebook group.
"From my house, I've witnessed a lot of accidents," Lew said. "I was sitting outside my house a few years ago when a young girl drove through the wet road and ended up at the bottom of the hill. Her car flipped and ended up upside down and pointing the wrong way across the street. She almost hit the gas line."
Central Saanich director of engineering Dale Puskas says there were eight collisions on this section of Tanner Road that have been reported to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia between 2019 and 2023.
Residents have been asking the district to bring the speed limit down from 50 to 30 km/h to help prevent future incidents.
During a regular meeting on Jan. 27, Mayor Ryan Windsor and council directed staff to develop a speed reduction plan that includes reducing Tanner and Central Saanich roads speeds from 50 to 40 km/h in accordance with road classification and engineering standards.
The district is also working on road design upgrades for Tanner Road to coincide with watermain replacement and the completion of the Ministry of Transportation's Keating overpass project.
“The geometry of the road and number of driveways has posed a challenge for residents for years and the temporary increase in traffic spurred by the Keating flyover project has certainly exacerbated these challenges,” said Coun. Niall Paltiel.
“I'm sympathetic as is council to the circumstances and we're trying to make good long-term solutions to the challenges,” Windsor added.
He’s reminding drivers to look, pay attention and slow down when driving along Tanner Road. “As long as the detour is in place, we ask that drivers show consideration for their neighbourhood,” Windsor said.
The Highway 17/Keating flyover is set to open this summer. The Ministry of Transportation began work on the Keating flyover project in June 2023. To gain access to the southbound Highway 17 lanes, residential and light trucks weighing less than 5,500 kg were detoured along Central Saanich and Tanner roads.
In a July 2023 report submitted to council, staff said a traffic count found traffic volumes averaged 6,100 vehicles daily, with approximately 2,000 more vehicles going eastbound (towards Highway 17) than westbound on weekdays. The average speed during the period was 48 km/h, with about 45 per cent of vehicles measured travelling at average speeds of 54 km/h, according to the report.
The speed reduction plan is expected to be brought back to council as a bylaw in April, with enactment expected in August or September of this year.
Central Saanich Police and the Integrated Road Safety Unit have increased enforcement in the area.
