Out on a morning December run, Gordon Head resident Ed Wiebe couldn’t believe just how few drivers fail to stop when turning right off of Tyndall Avenue and onto Feltham Road.
I waited for more than six minutes today to see if a driver would stop properly in #Saanich.
Rolling around an intersection isn't harmless. Right-turning drivers don't look right (go watch for a while), and don't see people starting to cross on foot.#HowISpentMyHoliday pic.twitter.com/Ll9mZDNdp0— Ed Wiebe (@edwiebe) December 19, 2018
So he stopped and filmed it.
The finished product, time-lapsed down to 47 seconds, shows it took six minutes to witness the first driver to stop at the stop sign. It was the 28th driver to approach the sign since Wiebe stopped and hit record.
A District of Saanich report says 12,000 vehicles travel through the Feltham corridor daily.
With the fine for failing to stop at a stop sign at $167 under the moter vehicle act, that’s a total of $4,509 for the 27 drivers who cruised the stop sign in the above video. And that’s just from a six minute window on a weekday morning.
“Many, many mornings I have been crossing there heading east and drivers just don’t look to the right to check for pedestrians,” Wiebe said.
Sgt. Jereme Leslie said Saanich Police Traffic Safety Unit usually focuses on areas that are high crash intersections or investigate areas where they receive complaints.
Leslie added environmental designs at intersections can ensure drivers stop for pedestrians, such as a raised crosswalk.
In fact, Feltham Road is scheduled for an upgrade to be completed for the spring, including a “re-laning” that will whittle it down to one lane each way, with turning lanes.
Saanich will also replace and install sidewalks and new bike lanes from along Feltham from Shelbourne to Tyndall.