What’s being done about speeders on the Alex Fraser Bridge?
That question was raised at the Nov. 23 Delta Police Board meeting as member Firth Bateman asked Police Chief Neil Dubord what more can be done, noting there appears to be a need for more enforcement by the RCMP.
“It’s really disconcerting if you’re trying to drive the speed limit, or close to it. You have numerous people driving 120 kilometres-an-hour in a 70 kilometre-an-hour zone. It’s disconcerting and startling, and I don’t know if there’s any way of that being dealt with,” said Bateman.
Noting the bridge is part of the provincial highway network, thus, enforcement is under the jurisdiction of RCMP, Dubord responded that there is a joint partnership when a highway comes through a municipality with the RCMP working with city police to explore enforcement strategies.
He added Delta’s police force has participated in successful joint enforcement campaigns on the bridge.
Deputy Chief Deputy Harj Sidhu said enforcement has been a challenge in the past six months, however, due to ongoing construction on the bridge. Delta Police are looking at various strategies, also working with the transportation ministry, he said.
According to crash statistics for 2021 from ICBC, the Alex Fraser Bridge had 260 crashes last year.
From 2017 to 2021, the bridge was by far the top crash site in Delta with 1,433 collisions.
Part of the Alex Fraser Bridge Improvement Project, the bridge’s speed limit in 2019 went down from 90 km/h to 70 km/h.
Asked at the time if measures would be implemented to enforce the new limit, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Claire Trevena issued a statement to the Delta Optimist, noting, “Local police enforce posted speed limits. As well, the ministry released traffic advisories and an information bulletin when the change went into effect in July in order to raise awareness.”
She also noted, “The ministry will be releasing materials over social media and on the project website to help raise awareness of the new transferable barrier system before counter flow goes into operation later this year.”
