Enough is enough. Sidney is a pedestrian minefield, and after being nearly run over in crosswalks less than 200 metres and two minutes apart, I’ve had it.
The first instance was crossing west to east on Fifth at Mt. Baker, by far the most dangerous crosswalk in town. I was again nearly struck crossing Sidney Avenue north to south at Fifth.
As a senior, a large segment of my daily life is walking the streets and paths of Sidney and since the pandemic, respect for pedestrians has vanished.
The most dangerous crossings are: the above-noted crossing at Mt. Baker. Vehicles use Fifth as a freeway between Beacon and Malaview and most, especially those heading into town, are doing double the speed limit. Cars on the west side of Fifth are parked so close to the crosswalk, one needs to enter halfway into the southbound lane to see or be seen. Most drivers see you too late to stop, so blast right through.
The next is crossing Beacon south to north on Resthaven. Many cars travelling east into Sidney speed up on amber, and because it is a wide crossing, reach the eastern crosswalk well after the light is red. Then comes the Fifth at Sidney Avenue, followed closely by crossing in any direction at Fourth and Beacon, Starbucks corner. In fact, all crossings of Beacon east of Fifth pose a risk, because traffic is one-way and drivers only look to the west before crossing.
I have communicated with the RCMP, the volunteer radar workers and Sidney Town Hall. Crickets. I shall now equip myself with a helmet or body cam for my daily walks and post near misses on social media.
Ron Baker
Sidney
