I’m happy right now, but confused.
The City of Burnaby did something totally awesome, but I don’t know how it happened.
I have written previously about what one neighbour called “crazy drag racers” in my neighbourhood and how a petition to add speed humps was started and seemingly failed.
And yet, in recent weeks road crews turned up and built the speed humps and it has made a significant difference.
Let me back up.
UniverCity resident Stephanie Klatt started a petition in 2019 through the City of Burnaby to have the speed humps installed on the 9100-9300 blocks of University Crescent on Burnaby Mountain. Copies of the petition were sent to residents in the area. I know because I’m one of them, although I wouldn’t have had to pay a share of the $18,000 cost that would have been shared by the residents.
Later last summer, I received a letter saying the petition failed, meaning not enough people supported it.
I thought the issue was died.
The problem is so many of the speeders who come barrelling down this road are in souped-up luxury cars emblazoned with ‘N’ stickers on the back of them and their lack of driving skill and experience really shows. They blow through stop signs like they actually don’t know what the red sign means. They speed well over the posted speed limit, often because they can’t handle the power of these high-end cars. I also see a lot of them on their phones as they race by.
UniverCity has a lot of kids living there attending Simon Fraser University and Klatt was trying to protect them with a proposal to add seven speed humps.
But, as I said, I thought the petition had failed. I don’t know how this got done, but I’m thankful it did because people are definitely slowing down.
The road crew also fixed the curb cuts at one crosswalk to make it easier for parents pushing strollers and people using mobility devices.
I’m often hard on the city for its lack of infrastructure, but things are definitely changing for the better.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
