Pedestrian's
death prompts calls for improvements to Highway 101
Matthew Ramsey, The Province
Published: Thursday, January 04, 2007
The death of a 12-year-old-girl killed as she tried to cross
Highway 101 on the Sunshine Coast is renewing calls to improve
safety along the route.
Brynn Suddes was struck and killed Tuesday at dusk as
she attempted to cross the highway at the Poplars Trailer
Park after getting off a bus.
There are streetlights at the scene, but no pedestrian-operated
crossing signals and no crosswalk.
The girl was hit by a northbound Ford pickup. She was
pronounced dead a short time later at St. Mary's Hospital
in Sechelt.
Sgt. Gerry Webb of the Sunshine Coast RCMP said it appears
that the accident "was unavoidable."
Charges against the driver, a Gibsons man familiar with
the route who stopped and stayed at the scene, are not
being contemplated, Webb said.
With six fatalities on the highway last year and this
tragic start to 2007, local and provincial politicians
are wondering what it will take for the Minister of Transportation,
Kevin Falcon, to get the ball rolling on safety improvements.
"Every elected official on the Sunshine Coast has
brought it to the attention of the minister," said
Nicholas Simons, Powell River Sunshine Coast NDP MLA.
"He knows that there's a problem. Highway 101 should
be a priority for the minister."
Gibsons Coun. Chris Koopmans said his community is working
alongside Sechelt to lobby for improvements, but so far
nothing has happened.
"The Town of Gibsons is extremely concerned,"
Koopmans said yesterday. "All these deaths could
be prevented through improvements to the highway and better
driving."
The highway was built in the early 1960s and is known
for its tight turns, steep slopes and extremely narrow
shoulders. Both Gibsons and Sechelt are pushing for bypasses
around their town centres and improvements outside their
boundaries.
The Sunshine Coast, with a year-round population of about
27,500 that swells significantly in the summer, has a
predicted growth rate of 24 per cent over the next decade.
Koopmans said the area has simply outgrown its main highway.
"Ultimately, there's just a lot of traffic on what
used to be a country road," he said.
Highway 101 averages about 150 crashes and two deaths
a year. The route winds about 140 kilometres between Langdale
and Lund.
Insurance Corp. of B.C. statistics show 651 accidents
and seven deaths between 2000 and 2004 on the highway
between Gibsons and Egmont.
Falcon could not be reached for comment.
mramsey@png.canwest.com
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