Re: No speed studies needed; make it all 35km/h, Oak Bay News, Nov. 20
I am unsure how the writer correlates vehicles failing to yield at the four-way stop by Margaret Jenkins (which happens to be in Victoria, not Oak Bay) and middle-age women apparently speeding down his street to demand a blanket-wide municipal speed limit of 35km/h within Oak Bay.
The writer contradicts himself when he states, “Is it not plain to anyone who actually observes our traffic in Oak Bay that speed zones have almost nothing to do with the speeds at which most drivers travel?”
Yet this type of argument will most likely be used as the basis for our council to provide a solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist.
The current speed limits within most of the major roads in Oak Bay are adequate and require minimal changes.
One area that needs review however is the 40-30-40 zone on Henderson between Camosun and UVic.
This is a favourite fishing hole for the Integrated Road Safety Unit as well as Oak Bay’s finest. They can be seen there on a regular basis corralling cars going 45 on a straight stretch with excellent sightlines and no parked cars.
Meanwhile they ignore cyclists with no lights or helmets.
To quote from the Speed Limit Review by Oak Bay, “One of the ideas behind management of speed is the idea that most drivers are reasonable and competent ... This data supports findings of research that most drivers do not pay attention to posted speed limits, but drive at a speed that they feel is reasonable.”
By demanding a blanket reduction to 35km/h you would effectively criminalize a lot of otherwise law-abiding citizens.
If the objective of a speed limit review is to improve safety then let’s listen to the professionals as they tend to not let emotions or politics get in the way of facts.
Richard Gordon
Oak Bay