Brentlawn Drive is still an unsafe haven for rat runners, despite numerous complaints to the city from residents in the past 16 months.
In a letter dated Feb. 1 to Mayor Derek Corrigan – and CC’d to the NOW – Linda Dosdall detailed a brand new instance of dangerous driving on the North Burnaby street, resulting in extensive damage to her neighbour’s vehicle.
“It is déjà vu all over again for the residents of Brentlawn Drive,” she wrote. “A few years ago, my parked car was totalled outside of my house by a speeding drunk driver. Yesterday evening, it happened to a neighbour of mine a few doors away.”
Dosdall said the incident would’ve been a hit and run, were it not for the damage to the driver’s axle. She wrote that the suspect tried to flee on foot, but was promptly detained by police, who remained on scene to speak with witnesses.
“Interestingly enough though, as I was giving my statement to the officer, we both noticed and remarked on how the traffic along Brentlawn was not even slowing down despite all the activity, police vehicles and people,” she wrote.
This latest incident is nothing new for Brentlawn’s residents, who have appeared before council numerous times over the years to voice their concerns. In November 2013, Matthew Senf presented his concerns to Burnaby’s traffic and safety committee, asking for the installation of speed bumps and a four-way stop at Brentlawn Drive and Beta Avenue, as well as the removal of a bus route.
“The bus cannot fit with room to pass by for somebody to open their door, or for a cyclist to pass by – it just can’t happen,” Senf told the NOW. “I recognize that it’s a lot of work to reroute a bus, but they offered all manner of nonsense excuses. Nobody is more than two blocks away from a bus in this neighbourhood.”
In July, council voted to install the four-way stop at Beta, but staff recommended against removing the bus route and installing speed bumps as it would prevent the bus from going through.
However, while the city has been firm about not installing speed bumps, Senf noted officials have said that widening the street could be an option in the future. Brentlawn Drive is 8.5 metres wide, with street parking on both sides, making it impossible for two cars to drive through at the same time.
“So you’re going to spend the tax money to come up this three-block residential street to widen it so that people can traffic through here in a flagrant, insulting disregard for your traffic safety plan – but you won’t put some speed bumps in?”
With the ongoing construction at Brentwood Town Centre, the narrow street has been used heavily as a detour, resulting in damage to many parked cars along the street. Between 2004 and 2011, ICBC logged 45 incidents where property was damaged on Brentlawn Drive.
Terry MacDonald, who lives on the corner of Brentlawn and Delta, echoed sentiments from Senf and Dosdall, adding that it’s not just sedans and station wagons driving through the neighbourhood.
“During the day, you’ll find Purolator trucks, all the commercial vehicles you could ever think of, in order to avoid that Lougheed and Willingdon intersection,” he said.
MacDonald aims to appear before council in March to once again make a case for improving the safety of Brentlawn Drive, but at this point, no one is expecting any reactions to differ from their previous delegations.
“The mayor’s all for this living-near-SkyTrain, high-density,” said Dosdall. “I’m pretty sure there’s going to be more traffic and it’s just going to get progressively worse, and I hate to think what’s going to happen.”
