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FEBRUARY 19, 2016
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Residents ‘fed up’ with Downes Road speeders Aggressive driving is common on rural road, say locals Vikki HOPES Abbotsford News
A Downes Road resident using a radar gun clocked seven drivers travelling at speeds of 99 km/hr or higher in the 50 km/hr zone on Tuesday, Feb. 9 between 7 and 8 p.m. Two of those vehicles registered
speeds of 125 and 128 km/hr. The man, who didn’t want his name published, estimated that another 30 drivers were driving faster than 90 km/hr. The resident, who has lived in the area for more than 20 years, says he’s fed up. “Nobody wants to use the bike
lanes. Nobody feels safe walking to the community mailbox … It’s a freeway,” he said. The man has since presented a petition to city council and the Abbotsford Police Department (APD), asking for solutions to speeding and aggressive driving along the route.
Abbotsford Police Const. Pat Kelly aims a radar gun at traffic on Downes Road and Murphy Street.
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The petition was signed by all but one of the approximately 20 households on the portion of Downes Road between Gladwin and Seldon roads. The document requests that the Abbotsford Police Department (APD) “enforce the speed limit” and “have a visual presence” on the road and that the city look into “traffic calming measures.” The man said he routinely observes cars crashing into fences, roll-over collisions and vehicles passing on a double-solid line. In one incident, he saw two cars heading in the opposite direction passing other vehicles on a double-solid line. Their actions caused other drivers to have to brake suddenly, almost resulting in a six-car pileup. The resident says the APD does not have enough officers in its traffic section to enforce speeds along the route and to target dangerous drivers. The APD currently has seven members in its traffic section, out of 217 total members. The man says other police agencies he canvassed have a greater percentage of traffic officers. For example, Langley RCMP has 13 out of 195 members, and Coquitlam has 19 out of 235, he said. Const. Paul Walker said the APD’s seven traffic members include four constables, two traffic analysts/reconstructionists and one sergeant. Continued on A4
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PENTICTON BOUND A20 Abbotsford athletes head to 2016 BC Winter Games to compete against B.C.’s best
KINDER MORGAN DRAWS LINE A7 Pipeline company puts limits on what it’s willing to do to address intervener concerns
BUDGET BENEFITS A4 Finance minister and Abbotsford MLA outlines local upsides to provincial plan ■
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