In response to pedestrians being killed in traffic on the Lougheed Highway in Maple Ridge, Mayor Dan Ruimy has appealed to the province for safety measures.
“Since 2023, there have been five pedestrian fatalities on Lougheed Highway between 203 Street and 222 Street, which have disproportionately impacted the unhoused, vulnerable population in our community,” noted Ruimy in a letter to Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth.
“These incidents have highlighted the urgent need for improvements to ensure the safety of all road users.”
At a meeting on Feb. 10, council reviewed Ruimy’s letter, dated Jan. 29 and sent “to formally raise significant safety concerns related to traffic operations, lack of safe crossings, pedestrian safety, and roadway lighting along Lougheed Highway, particularly between Haney Bypass and 203 Street.”
He noted the Overdose Prevention site at Ridge Meadows Hospital, and the Community Resource Hub which also serves the street population, are located along this route on opposite sides of the highway.
Most recently, a woman was killed on Jan. 5 at 5:30 a.m. near Laity Street.
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Community members are calling for action, and the city and the Ridge Meadows RCMP have responded with increased enforcement and public education, said the mayor.
Following the latest fatality, Rhiannon Fox wrote The News expressing the highway is a wide road that cuts through residential neighbourhoods, drivers speed, and controlled crossings are too far apart.
“When the same outcome keeps repeating in the same place, it is no longer simply a tragedy, but a failure of leadership,” wrote Fox.
She is from Vision Zero Vancouver, which advocates for safe streets in Metro Vancouver.
“We recognize that longer-term changes are anticipated with the Maple Ridge-Langley Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line, however it is critical that practical measures are implemented in the interim before construction begins,” wrote Ruimy.
Options discussed to date include:
• Improved road lighting
• Installation of median road fencing
• Consideration of interim pedestrian signalized intersections
• Enhanced resident education and information bulletins
• Continued and increased RCMP enforcement
Ruimy wrote that BRT is an opportunity to shape transit-oriented development in the region, and public confidence in its success depends on visible and meaningful safety improvements in the interim.