West Shore RCMP officers were out last Thursday (July 12) enforcing an often ignored playground zone near Shelby Place and Goldstream Avenue.
“This is a real hot spot,” said Cst. Tad Narraway frustrated that nearly every car who passed him and his speed gun was going faster than the posted limit.
One car was even travelling 67 kilometres per hour in the 30km/h zone.
“People just aren’t paying attention,” Narraway said. “We aren’t hiding this enforcement.”
As the speeding cars approach the officers on the shoulder of the road, many don’t even slow down for portable speed bumps deployed by police.
In one hour at the problematic stretch of road, the RCMP handed out 20 tickets, while letting a few people go with warnings.
As the RCMP were stopping drivers, a few residents of the quiet Langford neighbourhood approached the officers to thank them for addressing their concerns.
“I would like to see the whole area off the highway a 30km/h zone. It’s a huge safety issue,” said long-time resident Greg Craven, adding he’s more than frustrated with people speeding through his neighbourbood. He’s also concerned with large trucks, including loaded logging trucks, that use Goldstream Avenue as a short cut to get to the truck route.
“It’s out of control,” said Craven, who says he has signed community petitions and attended council meetings on the matter over the years. “This is a high flow area with young families. It’s also a bit of a blind spot.”
Most of the traffic speeding through the area at the north end of Goldstream Avenue is travelling south after exiting off the Trans Canada Highway.
The City of Langford will be blocking off the entrance to Goldstream Avenue when the Leigh Road interchange is up and running.
RCMP will continue to enforce speeding in the community as long as it is an issue.
charla@goldstreamgazette.com