The City of Burnaby is sticking with a recent attempt to make Canada Way a little safer after a tragic fatal crash at an intersection over a year ago.
A 57-year-old man died in the crash after trying to make a left turn from Rayside Street onto Canada Way at 6 a.m. on Dec. 17, 2013.
Last July, the city put in a temporary diverter at the intersection, with no-left turn restrictions on a trial basis.
City council passed a motion making the restrictions permanent at Monday night's council meeting.
"As you are aware, there was a very serious accident awhile back where an individual was killed trying to make a left-hand turn off of Rayside onto Canada Way," Coun. Paul McDonell, a member of the city's traffic safety committee, said at the meeting. "There's been numerous accidents every year because of the curve at Canada Way and the speed of the vehicles usually coming down Canada Way.
"There's a bit of a blind intersection there," he explained, adding, "there's been a lot of near-misses."
While the restrictions may be inconvenient for local residents, it makes the area much safer for drivers, according to the committee's report. There is a controlled intersection at Sperling Avenue, where residents can turn left and make their way back onto Canada Way.
"I live just north of this intersection and this is a really wise move," Coun. Dan Johnston said. "There's been a couple of people killed in the last 20 years at this intersection, and there used to be a near-miss probably once a week."
City staff reviewed crash data for the intersection from 2008 to 2012 while compiling the report.
"The majority of the crashes were found to be rear end-crashes, which are typical for intersections along an arterial street," the report stated. "Due to traffic speeds along Canada Way and the vertical and horizontal curves just east of the intersection, some westbound single-vehicle crashes have occurred near or at the intersection in the past."
A permanent diverter and left-turn restrictions are slated for installation late this year, as well as other roadwork to make sure the area can be accessed by emergency and service vehicles, according to the report.
