The top concern raised in Oak Bay’s engagement survey for the pedestrian and sidewalk master plan was the condition and quality of sidewalks.
The survey was conducted between February 7 to March 7, where people were invited to provide feedback on the current pedestrian and sidewalk facilities in Oak Bay.
“Power poles in the middle of sidewalks hinders wheelchairs and strollers among others,” one respondent said. “A lot of curbs don’t have ramps down to the road surface (limiting access). Most streets don’t line up and sidewalks go from one side of the road on one block, cross an intersection and then the sidewalk ends or starts on the opposite side of the street.”
Oak Bay published comments it received in the survey, but all responses had the name removed for privacy.
Of the 811 people who responded to the survey, 67 per cent feel very safe walking or rolling in Oak Bay.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Pedestrian and Sidewalk Master Plan survey. Interested in what we heard? View the engagement summary here: https://t.co/ghANROhy1f pic.twitter.com/n4XWi96SLO
— District of Oak Bay (@DistrictOakBay) May 17, 2022
“I don’t have comments on how to improve other than to say keep doing what you are doing,” one respondent said. “I feel very safe walking in Oak Bay, even at night or early in the morning. The roads are appropriately lit for walkers.”
The second top concern was about vehicle speeds and driver behaviour.
“Enforce ticketing for bad driving (e.g., rolling stop signs, failing to yield at marked and unmarked crosswalks), prevent traffic from cutting through neighbourhoods to avoid congestion on arterials, traffic calming, ban vehicles with huge blind spots, remove slip lanes and limit right turns on red,” another respondent said.
The third concern raised in the feedback was calling for improvements to crosswalks.
“[M]ore marked crosswalks where sidewalks meet intersections, boulevard bump-outs and street trees to calm traffic, planted bio-swales buffering roadways from sidewalks, bump-outs at crosswalks to increase pedestrian visibility and safety,” a respondent said.
The other top concerns raised included removal or maintenance of obstructions, desire for more sidewalks, concerns about conflicts between active transportation, and issues with where vehicles park.
Oak Bay staff have summarized the feedback, and will be incorporating the feedback into a pedestrian and sidewalk master plan with the goal of presenting it to council in summer 2022.
Once the master plan has been presented, the public will be invited for a second round of feedback.
Laura Brougham
