“How many more tragic accidents will it take before the city does something? I live on Duthie, but am now planning on avoiding walking on the sidewalk with my kids.”
That is the start of an email I received Wednesday night after my first story hit online about a horrifying crash that claimed the lives of two men.
It was from a man named Wylie, who lives very close to the scene of the crash, which happened at Duthie Avenue and Montecito Drive in front of Montecito Elementary.
Weeks earlier, Wylie had poured out his thoughts to me about the problems on Duthie, which is known as a ratrunner route that sees drivers speeding between Broadway all the way to Burnaby Mountain Parkway and beyond to the entrance of the Barnet.
Wylie and others contacted me in June to say how they have begged the City of Burnaby to find ways to slow down drivers on this stretch of road. They told me about wanting speed humps (which, sadly, aren’t possible because it’s a bus route), more signage, impediments to narrow the road in order to slow people down, plus the need for an additional stop sign.
After news of the crash and the fatalities spread, more people came forward to say they had also asked the city to make changes.
“No shock at all,” tweeted my friend Jeremy, who lives nearby. “I have been standing at the crosswalk there with a baby stroller watching people zoom by without a care.... trying to ask authorities to bring some enforcement was a fruitless and frustrating exercise.”
“I avoid Duthie as much as possible,” said Cassandra, an area resident. “It’s not like this is some surprise. We’ve all warned the city about this. It’s enraging.”
This is a small street that people race down to get by SFU and to the highway. It’s a school zone. It’s dense. And it’s dangerous. Does @CityofBurnaby really need to prioritize cars around a school and park?https://t.co/g7uUpAgalq
— BdblE (@MsYouDoYou) July 22, 2021
“So @CityofBurnaby, two months ago you denied us further traffic calming measures in our school zone and now TWO people are dead,” tweeted @MsYouDoYou. “Is this what you mean about community? Are these deaths enough to prove we need action?”
I’m trying to be careful with how I write this because there are still many unknowns about this crash. Burnaby RCMP say a pick-up truck slammed into a parked vehicle on Duthie, killing the driver and a person who was standing by the parked vehicle. Police are still determining if speed was a factor, but I don’t see how it couldn’t be. You don’t flip a vehicle going 50 km/h. It’s also possible the driver was having some sort of medical emergency and lost control.
If the driver was speeding, then that is on him. The accountability does rest there and people should remember that before trying to blame the city for people’s deaths. Drivers are going to speed no matter what. I’ve even seen maniacs race over speed humps and literally get airborne in their lust to make up some time.
But, and this is a big but, there are more things that can be done to deter speeding and Duthie residents have spoken loud and clear on this issue.
“I live on Duthie Ave myself and I am quite concerned by the safety on the streets,” Rob P.told me in June. “The number of times cars speed through the crosswalk when occupied or pass cars on the right who are turning left or stopped for pedestrians is quite concerning. I mentioned this to the city in December of 2019 and their response was to put in place a single (post).
“The problem that Duthie poses is that it is visually a wide and open street that is straight with few intersections. It literally is a drag strip between Kitchener and Halifax. This gives speeders a false sense of security. My suggestion is to narrow Duthie, especially at the crosswalks, with bump outs. This would remove some of that sense of openness and also prevent passing on the right at crosswalks.”
So, residents have put forward a lot of ideas. Now we’ll see if this tragedy ends up leading to more action. I sure hope so because I also have a personal stake in this because my mom lives only two blocks from the crash site.
Follow Chris Campbell on Twitter @shinebox44.
