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Letter: Stoplights are not the answer for 16 Avenue

Editor: What unfortunate admissions attributed to Langley Township Coun. Charlie Fox, not caring about the weekly tens of thousands of "...east-west commuters..." and wanting really, to serve his own family going north-south at 240 Street across 16 Avenue.

Forget the 100,000 vehicles a week on 16th, that currently have a desperate need for this east -west route to quickly get them where they need to go, without needing to stop at every intersection.

I am an Aldergrove resident north of 16 Avenue, counting on 16 Avenue as a commuting route six days a week.

I believe roundabouts are the answer for his family and commuters, whereas stoplights are a disservice to the region.

It is disappointing in the extreme, that council seems set to foist this pennywise-pound foolish, wrong-headed option on all the Fraser Valley's drivers,  for at least three reasons — pollution, safety and future traffic responsibilities.

Pollution

The lower Fraser Valley from Hope to the ocean is an air shed bounded by mountains to the north, south and east which constrain air flow, especially noticeable in the summer heat. Futurists claim the population in the Lower Fraser Valley will triple in our lifetime. Why not attempt to facilitate movement of the region's traffic, rather than create slug-like gridlock? The effect of installing stop lights on 16th Avenue, would effectively quadruple the smog in the immediate area as the hundred thousands of east-west road users would be forced to halt the lengthy slug of traffic and wait for the nearby resident to cross 16 at a light. Langley Township's "Idle No More" initiative could be shot down by it's own Council. "Idle at Your Leisure on 16th" would be the apt bumper sticker.

Furthermore, all vehicles would burn extra fossil fuel, as all those east -west vehicles attempt to regain speed, unfortunately, so that they could come to a stop at the next stop light, idle, and repeat the process, again and again. I thought Langley paid people 2 years ago to reduce idling vehicles? This stop light initiative would have the opposite deleterious effect. Equally wrongheaded environmentally, is the notion of slowing the traffic down. Internal combustion engines work most efficiently at 80 km. I say, keep traffic moving once the engines have laboured to get the vehicles rolling!  Full sized roundabouts would do the job.

Safety

Sadly, there have been horrible accidents on this road, and with 100,000 vehicles on the 2  lane roadway each week, it's no surprise, because there are so many users.  There have been crashes on just about every main road in Langley too. However, when a 16th Ave dump truck driver crosses a double line in sociopathic fashion, or falls asleep, or an enraged person is cut off or when a driver runs a stop sign - there will be no happy result. But, "controlling" intersections with stop lights, is not the answer.

In reality, all intersections are "controlled". We are all obligated and controlled by the rules of the road. Former policeman, now Mayor, Jack Froese also verifies that stop lit intersections are no guarantee of accidents being less severe, or less frequent.

More to the point, I recall the words of the RCMP Staff Sargeant in Squamish in 2009 who commented on the huge expense shelled out by the Provincial Liberals to upgrade the "Sea-to Sky" highway prior to the 2010 Olympics. His interviewer asked "...Won't all the money spent reduce the number of accidents on this dangerous road? " His terse-tired-of-attending-accidents comment was,  " I doubt it. Highways don't cause accidents. Drivers do."

The same is true in Langley. Stop lights don't reduce accidents.

The heavy truck traffic, farm vehicles and commuters create a patience-trying mix on a street which is poorly signed at 60 max, when it safely handles 80 km/h routinely. The speed limits being inappropriately set to 60, combined with inappropriately painted solid no-passing lines, where passing aught to be allowed, only add to drivers' frustrations on the road. Narrow shoulders, poorly positioned north-south stop lines on intersecting roads, together with poorly cleared trees, hedges and grades which hinder safe lines of sight at intersections like at 240th St., also diminish safety.  The politicians /designers / builders of the old road left in these obstacles, which need removing to improve public safety today.

Future traffic responsibilities

It was refreshing to read the words of former Mayor Peter Fassbender some time ago, as wishing to "... carefully weigh the options on this major east-west thoroughfare..." . One might hope that as Translink's overseeing MLA, Mr. Fassbender will ride a vehicle on the route some rush hour and experience first hand, the clear need to step in and orchestrate provincial help in expanding it to four lanes through Abbotsford to Highway 99 ASAP for the benefit of the whole region connecting border traffic east-west from Abbotsford, Langley and into Surrey

Furthermore, the historically responsible natures of local RCMP supervisory personnel are to be commended for not sending their officers onto narrow 16 Ave routinely to issue tickets, until recently. It said something about the value they placed on the lives of their officers, who'd literally had to risk their behinds to talk to drivers. It may say something equally malignant about the malingering nature of the slow political progress in truly fixing 16 Ave issues. Plainly though, hurriedly creating pull-outs for police to issue tickets, combined with stoplights, are not the visionary, long-term needed answers.

It needs to be recognized that 16 Ave is a major east-west commuter route and properly should be a 4 lane highway with full sized roundabouts to facilitate traffic movement for the whole south of the Fraser region - not fettering the region with another enhanced pollution producing slug trail of trucks and cars, filled with stop lights, which will shackle future generations too.

Sixteenth is no longer an old country lane. More than 100,000 vehicles a week now , say so. When Abbotsford connects shortly, it will be a staggering traffic amount. Perhaps Township Council would like stoplights on Highway 1 through Langley also?

One can only envy the foresight of our American cousins in the County south of us in Lynden to Bellingham, where there has been built, a 4 lane Guide Meridian Highway with functional roundabouts, which calm traffic and allow east-south-north-west merging safely. Even less opulent, the Hannigan Road from Lynden to Bellingham is a broad, posted 50 mph roadway. Aren't we capable of being as smart as American road builders 20 minutes away?

Bryn Jones,

Aldergrove