Finish the barrier
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Updated: July 17, 2009 10:38 AM
The head-on collision that claimed the lives of two women in Chilliwack Saturday has rekindled debate about a barrier separating oncoming traffic along Highway 1.
Fatal, or near fatal, accidents in the past have resulted in the completion of a wire barrier from the Young Road overpass all the way to Annis Road.
Westbound, a concrete divider separates traffic west of the Yale Road overpass.
There remains, however, a portion of highway where vehicles speed past each other precariously close. It’s just west of the Vedder overpass, where the grass median is at its most narrow; where the highway makes a sharp bend; where westbound traffic enters the highway from the Vedder overpass; and where two women died Saturday.
Granted, highway design is not the only factor in motor vehicle crashes.
Excessive speed, aggressive driving and driver distraction are by far the greater culprits in highway deaths and injuries. But safety devices like wire barriers and concrete medians can help lessen the severity of crashes caused by these other factors.
It would be great if drivers would simply slow down, pay more attention and keep their distance. But when they don’t, innocent people should not have to die, especially if there are ways to lessen the likelihood of those deaths.
The highway running through Chilliwack has changed little since it was first constructed in the 1950s. And yet, traffic volume and driver behaviour have changed dramatically. Vehicles are traveling faster, and there are more of them.
That should suggest a re-evaluation of the current highway design. It should prompt an examination of ways the roadway can be made safer. But that discussion should start before a death, not after.
It is time to end the piecemeal improvement to highway design and take what steps are necessary to keep on-coming vehicles apart.
Greg Knill, Chilliwack Progress
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