North Cowichan mayor raises concerns about pedestrian safety in wake of teen's death
North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas says he's frustrated the province is not following through on its promise to build a pedestrian bridge over the Trans Canada highway through his community.
It comes after a 17-year-old high school student was struck and killed Tuesday night while crossing the same highway — the third pedestrian to be hit on the highway by drivers in the Cowichan Valley in the past month.
The mayor says this tragedy underscores ongoing safety concerns in the community, which has been calling for a pedestrian overpass for over a decade. Without it, he says he's worried about residents, particularly students from schools near the highway, who frequently jaywalk to reach businesses and restaurants on the other side.
"We've got the Trans-Canada Highway running right through the middle of our community," Douglas said
"It is an area that gets a lot of pedestrian traffic, and this does create some pretty major safety concerns."
He says he has been in discussion with the Ministry of Transportation since 2023 about putting a pedestrian bridge over the highway at James St. in North Cowichan, near Quw'utsun Secondary School. Douglas said he expected to see it confirmed in the 2025 provincial budget — but was told recently it wasn't going to happen.
However, B.C. will fund fencing around the stretch of highway between James St. and Beverly St., plant trees and raise the median to discourage pedestrians crossing.
While Douglas is grateful for the barriers, which he says were part of the original plan, it doesn't relieve his concerns.
"It's definitely a let down from our end, because we had been promised that already, plus this pedestrian overpass," he said.
Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth, who didn't rule out a bridge at some later date, says he believes the fencing will be a significant first step for the community and denied the decision was due to funding issues.
Once the barriers are installed, he says the ministry will be conducting additional studies to "discover what additional safety measures are required."
"We take these safety concerns very seriously," he said.
3 pedestrians struck in a month
RCMP say a semi-truck hit a 17-year-old on the Trans-Canada Highway at Trunk Road in Duncan around 8:40 pm on Tuesday. The teen died in the hospital from their injuries.
The 17-year-old was a student at Quw'utsun Secondary School, according to Jeff Rowan, the assistant superintendent of communications and community relations for the Cowichan School District.
"It's tragic," he said. "We're certainly working with staff and students and the community to do all we can to support."
Last month, two pedestrians were struck and injured, one critically, on the Trans Canada Highway in North Cowichan between York Road and Beverly Street, near Quw'utsun Secondary School and close to the intended location for the pedestrian overpass.
Rowan says it's a busy area, one that students often cross on their lunch breaks to reach fast food restaurants across from the school.
"People are coming in at highway speeds and then they're told to slow down, [but] it is still a fast area," Rowan said.
"Our concern, of course, is for the kid's safety; we have schools on either side of the highway."
Rowan says the community is seeking additional answers from the Ministry of Transportation about the new barriers, including whether they could be climbed, what results other communities have seen from them, and what they will look like.
Student's death 'heartbreaking': Cowichan Tribes chief
Cowichan Tribes Chief Cindy Daniels said the community's cultural workers are reaching out to support students and youth in the wake of the tragedy.
"It is heartbreaking for our community to experience another Cowichan youth being fatally injured as a pedestrian in our community," she said in a statement. "I extend my deepest condolences to the family members, friends, peers, and teachers as they grieve this loss.
For many of our people, walking is their primary way to get to and from their daily activities," she wrote. "With vehicle traffic continuing to increase, we continue to need safer options for pedestrians through the highway corridor."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
34 minutes ago
- CBC
No tax on tips? Experts warn against bringing U.S. proposal to Canada
The idea of "no tax on tips" has found a way to appeal across party lines in the U.S. The policy is winding its ways through the halls of American government — but economists warn, it's not an idea worth pursuing here in Canada. "It would be just as silly of an idea in Canada as it would be in the United States," Alex Muresianu, a senior policy analyst at Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation said. The No Tax on Tips Act passed the U.S. senate in a unanimous bipartisan vote last month. Similar provisions are being worked into the One Big Beautiful Bill currently before congress. What Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' means for Canadians' wallets 5 days ago Duration 4:49 U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that he would increase government spending and loosen some fiscal restraints with a new spending bill dubbed the "big beautiful bill" last week. Mark Ting, a partner with Foundation Wealth and On The Coast's personal finance columnist, says that markets have already responded positively to the bill. "It's catchy. I think 'no tax on tips' just rolls off the tongue very easily. And I think that is probably a big part of why it's caught on," Muresianu said. While the idea was backed by both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris in the recent U.S. presidential election, it didn't come up in Canada's recent federal election — something that surprised UBC economics professor Kevin Milligan. "I think that's a good thing," Milligan said. "I think that the focus on making sure that workers feel that they get a good deal from the government by looking carefully at the taxes that working families pay, I think those are good things." The No Tax on Tips Act exempts those making less than $160,000 a year from paying tax on tips, and capped the deduction at $25,000. There are similar provisions in the budget bill that is now before congress, though it does not include the cap. When asked how much he pays in taxes on his tips, Windsor server Dawson Ryan says it's "too much." He says tips are "almost the entire job," for him to make a living on top of minimum wage. Taking away the burden of taxes on tips would go a long way, he says, in helping him get by. "I feel like honestly it would get more people into the industry as well," he said. Maiden Lane assistant manager Olivia Holt says that, of course, the change would be welcome — but sees both sides of the issue and understands why some might call it a bad idea. But Holt says she does want to see the process of accounting for tips during tax season simplified. "It's already such a headache and figuring out what forms you have to fill out," Holt said. 'Treating a buck as a buck' "What problem is it solving?" asked Christine Neal, chair of the economics department at Wilfrid Laurier University. "Certainly from an economics perspective, no one has explained it well. Maybe from a politics perspective, but I'm not even sure of that to be honest." She says while it might be true that a lot of people who earn tips are themselves low income, it doesn't mean they're paying a lot in taxes already. "It ends up being these higher income people that might be benefiting the most," she said. Kevin Milligan at UBC says the tax system shouldn't be distinguishing between different types of income. "We'd like to think of treating a buck as a buck," he said. "Not caring too much whether it's tip income or other kinds of income. So that's why just helping out those with tip income is most likely something that's not the best way to go." Neall agrees when it comes to not giving different treatments to different types of income. She says it helps keep overall taxes lower than they otherwise would be and stops "loopholes that people can use for tax evasion or tax avoidance purposes." 'A good thing' says Canadian Taxpayers Federation Kris Sims is the Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, a group that would like to see taxes come down across the board. She says an initiative like this would be a nice thing to think about for Canada, and a starting point. "At the end of the day, a tax cut is a tax cut. If we can get it for people even if it's for a certain class of people who just get tips, that's a good thing. Sims says she can understand why politicians in Canada might have avoided the idea during the federal election because of perceptions people have about Donald Trump and his push for the plan — but it shouldn't stop anyone from bringing the idea forward now.
CTV News
36 minutes ago
- CTV News
Man falls into Lachine Canal during altercation
SPVM police vehicles are seen in Montreal, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press) A 39-year-old man is in critical condition after falling into the Lachine Canal in Montreal during an altercation. Emergency services were called to the junction of Saint-Ambroise and Turgeon streets at 4:55 p.m. on Wednesday. Firefighters managed to pull the man from the water. He was taken to hospital, where his life is considered to be in danger. Montreal police (SPVM) has arrested a 42-year-old man in relation to the altercation. Investigators are still trying to establish the circumstances of the fall. – This report by The Canadian Press was first published on June 5, 2024.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Tariffs distract from the real financial war – one that Canada is losing badly
America's trade offensive may be incoherent and reckless, but the endgame has always been relatively clear: to revive U.S. manufacturing by ransacking trading partners of investment capital. It's not very neighbourly, and it could easily backfire, but it's also working, in one sense at least. Corporate Canada is in a state of paralysis. Business investment is being choked off by tariff chaos. And the country's manufacturing sector was among the world's weakest last month. There's a war for investment capital under way and Canada's losing. 'There's a finite pool of capital and once it's been cannibalized, it's never coming back,' said Stephen Johnston, director of Omnigence Asset Management in Calgary. 'Time is of the essence.' The country sorely needs the business-level investment that has been lacking for years, in things like plant and equipment, and productivity enhancing technology. The problem is, the Trump administration has so effectively poisoned the investing climate in Canada that businesses are in no position to be ambitious. More than half of business leaders in Canada recently surveyed by KPMG said they had already cut into their capital investment and R&D budgets over the next year. A majority also reported reductions in sales outlooks. Analysis: Trump's trade chaos has foreign creditors backing away from Canada 'American tariffs have put a stranglehold on revenue and are cutting off the funds earmarked for continued investment,' KPMG said. Manufacturers look especially vulnerable. On Monday, S&P Global published a snapshot of factory activity across 25 different countries in the month of May. Canada ranked dead last. A slowdown in May was to be expected, after U.S. importers accelerated their purchases in prior months before tariffs took effect. 'There is reason to be worried in the medium term as well, given repeated threats from the U.S. administration on Canadian factories,' Matthieu Arseneau, National Bank's deputy chief economist, wrote in a note. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to 'permanently shut down' auto manufacturing in Canada. And this week's doubling of metals tariffs has piled more misery onto Canadian steel and aluminum producers. Algoma Steel Group Inc. said the new tariffs could make the company's U.S. business unviable. From investing to real estate, here's how you can Trump-proof your wallet Blame for the ills of Canadian industry, however, does not fall solely on Mr. Trump's shoulders. Business investment in Canada has been declining for years. Spending on R&D has been dismally low. The country's factories now contribute less to global manufacturing value added than Ireland's, which has about one-eighth the population and little of Canada's energy abundance. The past 20 years have seen a 'profound atrophy of Canada's manufacturing base – unmatched across the industrialized world,' Stéfane Marion, chief economist at National Bank, wrote in a recent note. Most economists blame excessive regulation. Regulatory requirements for Canadian manufacturers have risen by about 40 per cent since 2005, according to Statistics Canada. 'The perception of Canada is that it's hostile to capital,' Mr. Johnston said. 'I speak to foreign capital allocators all the time, and they would not touch Canada with a 10-foot pole.' Reducing internal trade barriers is a top priority for businesses, KPMG poll shows That clearly needs to change if Canada is going to turn the page on its over-reliance on the U.S. economy. Business leaders themselves acknowledge the need to be bolder. The KPMG survey showed that 92 per cent agreed that boosting investment in technology and innovation was needed to 'build a more resilient, prosperous economy.' They also called on policy makers to remove interprovincial trade barriers, improve tax competitiveness, and reduce regulation to expedite major projects. Perhaps what is needed above all else is urgency. There is clearly momentum at the political level to course-correct the domestic economy. With a capital war upon us, implementation is crucial in a country not known for being economically nimble.
