Nanaimo had four of the top-10 worst intersections on the Island for crashes last year, while Saanich had three, says ICBC.
Topping the list is Nanaimo’s Aulds Road/Hammond Bay Road/Island Highway intersection, with 74 motor-vehicle incidents in 2021.
Duncan’s Trans-Canada Highway/Trunk Road is second with 58, while Nanaimo’s Bowen Road/East Trail/Island Highway/Norwell Drive comes in third with 56 and Aulds Road/Nanaimo Parkway/Parkway Trail in both Lantzville and Nanaimo is fourth at 54.
Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien called the city’s list-topper “a terrible intersection” that is extremely busy, adding that it’s right across from Woodgrove Centre mall.
He noted that both the No. 1 and No. 3 intersections join with Highway 19A.
Also on the high-crash list from the Nanaimo area are Jingle Pot Road/Nanaimo Parkway at No. 9 with 47 crashes, and Enterprise Street/Island Highway at No. 10. with 46 crashes.
O’Brien said the Enterprise site is going to get worse because the road system there is being restructured.
“They took the natural merge lane out and now it’s a solid turn where you have to wait for traffic.”
Saanich has the fifth-, sixth- and eighth-worst intersections for crashes, led by Blanshard Street/Saanich Road at 53.
Boleskine Road/Douglas Street/Saanich Road is at No. 6 with 52 (tied with Millstream Road/Trans-Canada Highway in Langford) and McKenzie Avenue/Quadra Street sits at No. 8. with 49.
“They’re very busy intersections at almost all times during the day,” said Saanich police Const. Markus Anastasiades, adding all road users should be “extra-diligent” when approaching intersections.
All three Saanich intersections would be expected to have higher crash numbers than others because of the larger volume of traffic, he said.
Fatalities in intersection crashes on the Island rose from eight in 2020 to 14 in 2021.
Monthly crash totals for the Island in 2021 ranged from 2,500 in January to 3,800 in December.
Data for 2022 will be available in the spring.
jbell@timescolonist.com
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