Another crash on the notorious stretch of Goldstream Avenue near the Trans Canada Highway access in Langford has at least one resident wanting the City to take action now and not wait until the road is closed to highway traffic.
Area resident Stephanie Parson said some of the problems on the road started after the City installed no parking signs along the north side of Goldstream last year. She said this forced residents to park on the opposite side, next to traffic coming off the TCH.
“It was never an issue (before),” she said. Since the parking change, Parson added, she’s seen an increase in incidents, with one neighbour having their driver’s door mirror broken off by a passing car, even though the car was parked within its spot. “This is way more dangerous.”
Parson said drivers coming off the TCH often ignore the posted speed limits and continue through the area at highway speeds. “I’m worried someone else is going to get killed,” she said. It’s the same area where a Langford woman was struck and killed by a car after running onto the road after a dog last year.
Last Thursday, an early morning wreck at around 3:30 caused Parson to jump out of bed. The crash, outside her house in the 1200-block of Goldstream Avenue, totalled both vehicles.
“I thought the side of my house was going to fall off,” she said, referencing the noise the impact made.
West Shore RCMP deemed speed to be a factor in the crash and said a driver swerved to avoid a dog and hit a parked car. The driver was taken to hospital as a precaution. RCMP confirmed that alcohol was not involved in the crash.
“There was no dog, I guarantee you that,” Parson said.
The City plans to close Goldstream Avenue access to the TCH once the Leigh Road interchange project has been completed. That project also saw the closure of the Spencer Road access earlier in the summer. Victor Chen of Langford’s engineering department expects the area to close to highway traffic in March or April of next year.
“When we close the highway access that’s the ultimate solution,” said Chen. He said once the access is closed it should be “basically residential traffic only, so that should slow it down.”
Parson admits this will help reduce the number of speeding vehicles, but she wants something done in the meantime.
“It’s just a dangerous situation,” she said. “There’s no sidewalks, it’s single-lane traffic.”
She wants to see work done to improve the overall road, add more parking, install sidewalks and remove the no-parking signs.
While the City has no improvement plans for this year, Chen said there is a plan to add a few improvements to the area once the TCH access has been closed. The area near the trailhead for Ed Nixon Trail will become a true cul-de-sac and Chen said more parking will be added. He also said street lights will be installed in the area, but the road is not designated for sidewalks.
Chen said to his recollection, the City installed the no parking signs on the north side because there was not enough room for cars to safely park on that side of the street and vehicles were actually encroaching onto the roadway.
katie@goldstreamgazette.com