The City of Colwood is investigating placing temporary speed cushions on Lagoon Road to address long-standing community concerns over speeding in the Esquimalt Lagoon area.
Council voted unanimously on Monday (Jan. 9) to approve Coun. Kim Jordison’s motion directing staff to study the move, as well as other potential traffic-calming solutions for the road.
Jordison told council her motion comes after years of hearing concerns from residents over how fast motorists drive on the road, which is a popular route for pedestrians walking down to the Colwood waterfront.
Nearly every councillor in the room on Monday shared anecdotes of dodging speeding drivers while walking to the waterfront – or at least seeing other pedestrians do so.
Jordison said speed cushions – temporarily installed soft rubber speed bumps – are currently installed on Milburn Drive and achieved their goal of slowing traffic on Milburn – shifting traffic off that street and onto Lagoon Road.
She said the city has studied speeding many times in the past, yet no changes have actually been made, so it is especially important staff’s recommendations are acted on once they are returned to council.
Coun. Ian Ward highlighted during the meeting how Ocean Boulevard has become a common “commuter shortcut” in the community, contributing to traffic woes, and encouraged staff to also consider traffic restrictions in the surrounding areas which would be tied to certain times of the day to help better direct commuters.
Mayor Doug Kobayashi said should staff recommend temporarily installing speed cushions on Lagoon Road, it would be as important for the city to monitor traffic impacts in the surrounding area as it would be on the lagoon itself.
Council received several letters from residents supporting the move to study potential solutions to speeders in the area.
“Speeding along Lagoon Road has been a pedestrian safety concern for many years, however, recently it has become even more dangerous since the installation of speed cushions on Milburn Drive, the parallel road,” read a letter to council co-signed by Hockering Road residents Tim Keogan and Cathy Olsen. Predictably, some traffic now avoids Milburn in favour of Lagoon Road. As well, cars now weave through the neighbourhood on Hockering (Road), Aloha (Avenue), and Anchorage (Avenue) trying to avoid the Milburn speed cushions. The threat to pedestrian safety and annoyance to the neighbourhood has increased.”