For James Perry, the small stack of letters he’s collected over the last several months have become symbols of frustration.
Despite advocating to make his Fraser Heights neighbourhood street safer, Perry says the response from the city of Surrey is always the same.
“Every letter says we’re sorry, but you’re short of the criteria. We’re sorry but no, no, no,” said Perry.
His concerns about road safety on Glenwood Crescent are personal. In April 2015, Perry’s son was hit by a car as he knelt down to retrieve a ball from beneath a parked vehicle.
READ MORE: Father of injured Surrey boy says drivers treat residential streets like a racetrack
His son’s life has been forever changed, but Perry says there’s no difference on the street: the speed limit is still 50 kilometres an hour, and he says there have been more collisions.
“This crescent has a thousand blind spots the way it twists and winds all the way through the neighbourhood,” said Perry, describing the street that runs east, north and south, looping on either side of 164 Street.
Other than signs telling drivers to share the road with cyclists, Perry says there’s nothing protecting children and families.
“We’re looking for speed bumps as well as slower speed limits through this neighbourhood.”
The city of Surrey has analyzed traffic patterns, and found last year that an average of 757 vehicles drove up and down the street daily, with 85 per cent averaging a speed of 56.71 kilometres per hour. However, the number of drivers speeding falls just short of the city’s criteria for traffic calming measures.
Surrey city councillor Tom Gill says the city has made significant investments in road safety over the years, and that concerns have been raised by the community before.
“I do understand that there will be another warrant analysis that will be done shortly. I do understand that through both the neighbourhood and community association, they have requested to peer the transportation committee, which I so happen to chair,” said Gill.
A date for that meeting hasn’t been set yet.
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