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Esquimalt wants drivers ticketed right away on prolific speeding road

Driver-calming measures added to Old Esquimalt Road and school zones
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Esquimalt is taking new measures to address speeding drivers on Old Esquimalt Road. (Courtesy of Google Streetview)

After 20 years of drivers flying down Old Esquimalt Road, those who get caught speeding on the residential street may no longer get away with a warning.

Esquimalt council voted last month to add a temporary electronic speed display board on the 30 km/h road and to work with Victoria police to increase officer presence in the area. A request for permanent speed display boards and school zone pavement markings for the roadway in next year’s draft budget was also approved.

It was originally recommended that the township work with VicPD to take a “graduated” approach to enforcement. Staff said that refers to VicPD’s usual strategy of providing a warning first before handing out tickets.

But multiple councillors said warnings and other measures like installing speed cushions haven’t quelled drivers speeding on Old Esquimalt Road over the last two decades.

READ: Esquimalt endorses active transportation network plan

“I think the part that’s bugging me the most is the, ‘We’ll give them another warning’ (approach). We’ve been giving them warnings for 20 years to slow down on that street,” Coun. Meagan Brame said at the May 16 meeting.

“Personally, I think we just skip the warning part and give them a ticket.”

Councillors decided to remove the “graduated” language out of their direction in the hope that Victoria police would go straight to ticketing offending drivers. Black Press Media has asked VicPD if this will now be the case.

Esquimalt staff and VicPD support speed display boards and school zone pavement markings at the two school zones – around Lampson School and L’Ecole Victor Brodeur – on the road. Adding four boards and pavement markings would cost about $30,000 – provided ICBC pays for half of one of the boards.

Township surveys found there wasn’t sufficient public support for the idea of adding speed humps on the road where speed cushions currently exist.


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