With Election Day mere days away, incumbent MLA candidate Jordan Sturdy is calling for changes that would end long waits after traffic incidents on the Sea to Sky Highway.
Sturdy, who is running to return to his seat with the BC Liberals in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky is calling for solutions to the long delays motorists regularly face following serious motor vehicle crashes on the Sea to Sky Highway.
The news release from Sturdy comes after two people were seriously injured and many highway drivers had to spend up to five hours waiting on the highway for the RCMP and Integrated Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Service (ICARS) investigation to be concluded and the accident cleared on Tuesday night.
"Taking care of injured people and ensuring they get the help they need always has to be the top priority, but beyond that, we need solutions to reduce time delays related to accidents on the Sea to Sky Highway, particularly in winter," the release from Sturdy's campaign states.
"There are necessary investments that would reduce the need to keep people in their idling cars for hours at a time."
Sturdy said options include having trained accident investigators based in the Sea to Sky and on the North Shore. In the interim, a policy that allows helicopter access to the scene for investigators could shorten response times by hours, according to Sturdy.
“We have the technology and the tools to conduct accident investigations, what we need is more local resources in the Sea to Sky to address the long road closures that have serious impacts throughout the corridor," said Sturdy, who was first elected MLA for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky on May 14, 2013.
"A review of the policy and potentially additional equipment for removing concrete medians and directing traffic into a counterflow mode to create at least a single lane of alternating traffic could get traffic moving safely, more quickly. Technology such as drones must also be more available to assist in investigations and the collection of key incident data."
BC Green Party candidate, Jeremy Valeriote said that Sturdy has had plenty of time to put his ideas into action.
“Who is he calling on? He has been the MLA here for seven years, and this isn’t a new problem,” Valeriote said in an email to The Chief.
“Whenever Jordan Sturdy raises chronic challenges like accident delays on the Sea to Sky or the failure to get to yes on regional transit, he calls his own record as MLA into question.
I know from experience that being an elected representative is about accepting responsibility,” he added. Valeriote previously sat for a term on Gibsons council, until 2018.
“I’ll accept responsibility for my role in delivering on regional transit and Sea to Sky decongestion — and I’ll also accept responsibility for any continuing problems I haven’t been able to solve. I won’t pretend that they are new, or that I suddenly have solutions just because I’m up for re-election. Right now, if we’re going to get anywhere with these recurring problems on the Sea to Sky or elsewhere, we need a fresh, collaborative approach.”
BC NDP candidate Keith Murdoch responded to Sturdy's suggestions by saying, in his view, making the highway safer and preventing crashes is more important than cleaning up after them.
"Yes, we can expedite accident investigations, improve traffic flow following incidents, and reduce lengthy delays. But our goal should continue to be making the highway safer to travel, especially in winter, and reducing overall congestion," he said in an email to The Chief.
"I would like to see a targetted approach to improving travel within the corridor. The BC NDP has committed to finding a funding structure that will allow expansion of transit options in the Sea to Sky region, so more people can travel safely, efficiently, and conveniently. Reducing single-occupancy vehicle use would significantly reduce congestion and improve safety on Highway 99 as well as contribute to our overall emissions reduction goals."
Election Day is Saturday, Oct. 24.
**Please note, this story has been updated to include a comment from the Green Party candidate. It was later updated again to include comment from the NDP Party candidate.
