WHEREAS the British Columbia Road Safety Strategy 2015 and Beyond 2013 states a provincial goal to make roads in BC the safest in North America by designing a system that is more forgiving of human error so that, even if crashes occur, they will not cause fatal or serious injury; AND WHEREAS the roads in the Lillooet area were constructed well before the development of modern engineering and safety standards that have been proven to reduce injury and death in the event of a collision and have many sections with steep embankments unprotected by barrier as well as extremely narrow unpaved shoulders; AND WHEREAS the British Columbia Road Safety Strategy 2015 and Beyond 2013 identifies the Southern Interior as by far the most deadly region of the province with about one-third of all motor vehicle related fatalities and statistics indicate the Lillooet area has a fatality rate of 19 - more than 6 times the average for our region: Therefore be it resolved, in keeping with our provincial governments identified priority to improve road safety and reduce fatalities and injury, we continue to ask for a thorough review and assessment of roadside safety including road design and evaluation of roadside hazards to reduce deaths and injury on BC roads.
Ministry of Transportation Infrastructure As a member of the BC Road Safety Strategy 2015, the Ministry fully supports the strategys goals of making BC the safest jurisdiction in North America by 2020. The Ministry monitors safety on all provincial highways, working closely with the road safety community partners that include Police, RCMP, ICBC, Provincial Health Officers, Provincial Coroners, WorkSafeBC and RoadSafetyBC in efforts to reduce deaths and injury on BC roads. BC on the Move, our 10 year transportation provides 75 million over the next 3 years in a new Road Safety Improvement Program, doubling funding over previous years, plus 30 million over the next 3 years focused on intersection safety Included in this program is our annual road side barrier program that reviews roadside safety and installs roadside barrier to mitigate the risks and severity of off road crashes. The most recent review of Highway 99 was completed in spring 2015 and resulted in the project to install barrier along a one-kilometre section north of Lillooet which was completed in the Fall of 2015. In addition to road side barrier, the Road Safety Improvement Program delivers a variety of safety projects including: - Community Safety Projects, focused on intersection improvements, crosswalks, signal and signing improvements and protecting vulnerable road users - Durable pavement markings in high traffic areas - Variable speed limit systems to reduce speeds on highways subject to sudden weather changes - Wildlife detection systems to warn drivers of large wildlife on the side of the road - Avalanche protection systems to keep our mountain highway safe - Cattle fencing keep livestock clear of main highways