Separate paths are needed

Dr. Kendall says the chance of a pedestrian surviving a crash in a 50 km/h zone is about 15 to 20 per cent, versus 90 per cent if the speed is lowered to 30 km.

Perhaps if several properly separated pedestrian and small-wheeled transport (bicycles, mobility carts, skateboards, etc.) paths were built, there would be fewer incidents of vehicle/pedestrians/cyclists collisions.

There have been serious bicycle/vehicle incidents involving injury or worse when the vehicle wasn't even moving - i.e. opening a car door as a bike was passing by. I am sure all of us who drive can cite close-calls while operating our cars safely at posted speeds, when out of nowhere a cyclist, usually without a helmet with zero regard for rules of the road, whips out in front of us, zigging through traffic and red lights, jumping curbs, dodging pedestrians, and back onto the road to scare 10 years off the life of another driver.

It is important to people who would rather walk or bike to work that separated roadways/sidewalks/bike paths be built. Having been hit from behind by a mobility cart while walking on a sidewalk, and sustaining a broken elbow and severe bruising, I believe it is separation of the different modes of transport, not particularly the speed with which they travel, that will bring greater safety. The path for the pedestrian and small-wheeled transports itself also needs to be divided.

Why don't we downscale the $3.5M tourist centre, to be built down by our $800,000 loo, to a more realistic price tag? Say, $2.5M on our safety and creating a greener environment, and $1M for tourist info. Or better yet, as a Castanet reader mentioned in an earlier article, renovate the old RCMP office into the new tourist info spot.

Deb Eden