More than 60 Tsawwassen residents have come together to combat motorists using dangerous speeds to careen down local streets.
Last Saturday, the first of many signs advocating slower vehicle speeds in Beach Grove were put up by a Beach Grove residents' group called “Always 30 in Beach Grove.”
The self-funded campaign is designed to serve as a reminder to drivers to respect the community’s speed limit of 30 km/h. Sixty more signs will be distributed to Beach Grove residents this coming weekend, Saturday Nov. 14 and Sunday Nov. 15.
Yvonne Anderson, one of the founding members of the residents group, told the Optimist she has heard from residents that drivers can come barreling down 16th Ave. at speeds as high as 70 km/h.
“Our children's safety is more important than whatever you're hurrying to get to,” said Anderson. “One kid gets killed and that will change anyone's life forever.”
Anderson, who says she typically doesn’t get involved in these kinds of projects, made an exception for the residents’ group. She said she has a personal connection to the issue as her sister was killed in a traffic accident involving a motorist driving too fast on local roads.
“I know how it affected my mother for the rest of her life,” she said.
A press release issued by the residents’ group on Monday states Beach Grove can be especially precarious for pedestrians due to the area’s narrow streets and laneways. Few of these roads have sidewalks, which forces pedestrians and pets to share the roadways with local traffic.
While the residents group recognizes the City of Delta has reduced the speed limit in the area, the group has found it is often not adhered to. The release also mentioned that while the recently installed advanced left-turn light on 56th Ave. at 16th has made life easier for residents, but it has also made the community a more attractive shortcut.
“I would say 50 per cent of the problem is our own Beach Grove residents and the other 50 are those people that have recognized that it's great to cut through Beach Grove,” Anderson said.
The group was created almost entirely through social media shortly after the summer with support from the City of Delta and the Delta Police.
