Drivers anxious to see 'no parking' signs lining the roadside along the stretch of the Island Highway known as the Nanoose Flats will have to wait for the Ministry of Transportation and Transit staff to carry out its due diligence.
In May, the ministry confirmed it was planning to put up signs in June banning roadside parking next to the northbound lanes of the highway between Hillview Road in Lantzville and Arlington Road in Nanoose Bay – where people digging for shellfish at low tide in Nanoose Bay park their vehicles – but when no signs appeared, area residents voiced their concerns.
Nanoose Bay resident April De Marco said area residents are posting photos and videos of the stretch of road on social media showing numerous cars parked roadside as heavy traffic speeds by. Some videos show the aftermath of collisions and in one instance a driver tried to make an illegal U-turn by attempting to drive southbound into the northbound access lane onto the highway from Hillview Road.
De Marco said she and other residents have complained to the ministry and their local MLA.
“There’s a long thread of people screaming and crying – and I’m one of them – about why isn’t something being done,” she said. “It’s just an accident waiting to happen.”
De Marco said the danger of a serious collision appears to be getting worse with increasing traffic volumes and speeds.
“The highway here has gotten a lot busier … It used to be, ‘Oh, it’s ferry traffic,’ but now it’s constant and I think that’s what people are seeing,” she said.
Lorrie Baildham, in an e-mail, said she frequently rides her bicycle from Nanaimo to Parksville-Qualicum and has seen “some very dangerous situations.”
“I rode that section [last week] and still no signs have been installed,” she said. “Lucky for me it was high tide so I did not have to worry about dodging cars or worry that someone will open their car door as I am cycling past.”
Nanaimo-Lantzville MLA George Anderson, parliamentary secretary for transit, said in an e-mail that the Ministry of Transportation and Transit has received complaints of safety concerns related to parking along the shoulder areas Highway 19 at the Nanoose Flats, and said the matter is "in process."
“The ministry is considering measures to address concerns, which would include preventing parking on the highway shoulder in this area; however, the ministry is still evaluating options such as specific locations, limits, signage placement and related measures,” he said.
The response went on to say the ministry will be consulting with Snaw-Naw-As First Nation and the Regional District of Nanaimo as a part of that work.
