Dear Editor,
Re; “Cyclist’s open letter to Mayor Brodie,” News, Nov. 18.
As a resident of No. 8 Road and River Road, I wanted to have my say on the recent articles regarding road safety on River Road.
Road safety has always been a problem on this street, but because of its location and the fact there are not a lot of residents here, the City of Richmond cared very little to improve the situation. It had to take a death of a cyclist in order for there to be any awareness.
I sent an email to the City of Richmond on Sept. 20, 2015 but never received a response. I also contacted TransLink asking it to create a bus service along River Road. They, at least, had the decency to respond but stated there were not enough people living out here to justify a bus service. In other words, residents along River Road are not important enough. Hence, my only solution was to buy a car to do everything, buy groceries, go to work, and even go to a safe place to jog/run, since walking or cycling on River Road is a death sentence. I do not have the luxury of a sidewalk, something most Richmond residents take for granted.
I read the open letter from Geordie McGillivray, and I completely do not agree with his solution that “the 30-km/h speed limit that is already in effect for part of River Road should be extended.” Do not condemn me to drive that speed for you, who only uses it on weekends. I’m already upset that owning a car is mandatory to live out here.
The real solution is to build a sidewalk and a bike path, so both pedestrians and cyclists can be accommodated. This road also needs to be expanded to accommodate the increased amount of traffic. It does, in fact, need to be repaired closer to No. 6 Road, since the road is cracking because of the constant use by heavy industrial trucks.
More importantly, it needs to be developed to help us isolated residents to have a sense of connection to the rest of Richmond.
Paraskevi Lagaditis
Richmond
