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 Safer City is a joint program between the District of Saanich, Saanich Police and ICBC, aimed at improving road safety for all users. The program incorporates road safety into all city initiatives and aims to make road safety a priority in Saanich. The District launched the Safer City Project in September 2002. The identification of road safety issues by the community is vital to ensure that the Safer City project effectively addresses the community’s needs.
Safer City is a systematic framework and process for developing a road safety plan for motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and all other road users. The plan incorporates road safety into all city initiatives and aims to make road safety a priority in Saanich. The plan considers aspects of the following:
Engineering
Aims to improve the existing transportation infrastructure and factor in safety when designing new transportation infrastructure. The engineering measures include:
- Addressing "black spot" locations - identifying and developing solutions for known road safety problem areas.
- Road standards - reviewing standards for road development and moving towards a safety conscious road form, customized for local conditions.
- Conducting road safety audits - reviewing road designs from a safety point of view.
- Developing traffic calming techniques that reflect local conditions and reduce vehicle speeds and volumes, thereby increasing the safety and liveability of neighbourhoods.
- Crash prediction models, that highlight the areas of concern and encourage preventative measures.
Planning
Safety Conscious Planning is a proactive approach that ensures road safety remains a priority in all transportation and land use planning initiatives. It includes:
- Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan Development - developing master plans that identify network deficiencies and recommend and prioritize improvements. The emphasis in Saanich will be on developing a Pedestrian Master Plan as a Bicycle Plan already exists.
- Local Area Plans - identifying safety concerns throughout a local neighbourhood, and developing a local area road safety plan.
- Land Use Reviews - investigating the relationship between adjacent land use and road safety.
- Transportation Network Planning - establishes an efficient transportation network and ensures that there are an appropriate number of arterial, collector and local roads. Ensures that traffic is travelling on appropriate roads.
Enforcement
Addresses a full range of enforcement activities. These activities include:
- Aggressive driving - dangerous behaviour such as tailgating.
- Impaired driving -driving under the influence of any substance that affects your driving ability and also includes fatigue or sleep deprivation.
- Seat-belt use
- Speeding - a Speed Management Program will be developed.
- Speed Card (PDF 121KB) - as
a warning for drivers.
Safer City strives to combine all enforcement measures with education campaigns and engineering designs (3 E's). Through this process the program hopes to raise the awareness of road safety and the devastating effects that occur when it is ignored.
Community Initiatives
The success of the Safer City Project depends on the community. The community is encouraged to play an active role by participating in community programs such as:
- Safer School Travel - assists Parent Advisory Councils to identify road safety issues, develop measures, and implement a School Road Safety Plan at their individual schools.
- Speed Watch - a community driven program that raises awareness of speed.
- C.A.R.S Program - promotes road safety awareness in secondary schools.
- Community Consultation - the identification
of safety issues by the community is most important to
the success of the program, as is the identification and
evaluation of potential solutions.
Contact Us
If you have any comments, suggestions, ideas
or specific feedback,
please feel free to contact us.
Saanich Safer
City
District of Saanich
770 Vernon Avenue
Victoria, BC, V8X 2W7
or email us
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