The Malahat is one step closer to having speed cameras installed on the popular Island highway.
Earlier this week, the Cowichan Valley Regional District agreed to send a letter, along with the Capital Regional District (CRD) calling on the province to install interval-based speed cameras.
“I was very pleased to see that political body has similar desires to explore a pilot project,” said Colin Plant, a Saanich councillor and chair of the CRD’s traffic safety commission.
“At the end of the day, the CRD and the CVRD recognize this is a provincial decision. We believe this will make our roads safer.”
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For months, many within the CRD have been calling for the province to crack down on speedsters by installing the cameras that could record licence plates at various intervals to determine the vehicle’s speed, in hopes of reducing the number of crashes on the Malahat.
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The letter, which was written by Plant, will be sent to Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, Attorney General David Eby and Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Claire Trevena this week or early next week.
Plant is hopeful the province will implement the cameras soon.
“We’re not deaf to the fact there are other things that cause injuries and accidents, such as distracted driving and driver error,” Plant said, adding other juridictions have successfully implemented interval-based speed cameras as well.
“This is just one of a series of tools that we think the province should consider … If we can do intiatives that save lives, make roads safer and have less claims paid out, we’re all going to be better off.”
kendra.wong@goldstream
