Editor: This letter is being written to bring public attention to two safety issues with the new South Fraser Perimeter Road.
When driving from Ladner toward Tsawwassen on Highway 17A, there is a spot just after traffic crosses the overpass at the rail line and Deltaport Way where for three or four seconds at the posted speed the sightlines are such that the roadway blends in with the two lanes of the new SFPR below and makes it appear the correct course is straight ahead.
In fact, the correct course is to bear slightly right down the access ramp to merge into those two lanes.
There are no concrete barriers along the left side of the road at that point, and it is just a matter of time until someone is going to continue on a straight course and nosedive over that embankment to the roadway below. Darkness and rain exacerbate the problem. When driving Highway 99 northbound and taking Exit 26 to get to Tsawwassen, the signage directs Tsawwassen motorists into the left lane. As you round the corner a sign indicating an exit ramp to Tsawwassen in the right lane suddenly appears.
I took this exit three times and finally realized that if you want to get to Tsawwassen on the SFPR from Exit 26, you have to ignore the signage and stay in the right lane when exiting Highway 99.
I was pointing this out to my son, who was driving recently, when a RAV4 in front of us in the left lane almost rolled making a last-second turn to get onto the Tsawwassen exit.
Again, just a matter of time until somebody is hurt at this point because of poor design/signage.
Lew Edwardson
