Friday, January 31, 2014

Oak Bay: Are Deer the Problem, or is it Speeding?

On Thursday, January 30th, an elderly man was struck by a vehicle at a crosswalk on Cadboro Bay Rd in Oak Bay, according to this Times Colonist news story.

Friends of Animals has been targeting Cadboro Bay Rd for speeding and dangerous driving, but on behalf of deer. According to the CRD Regional Deer Management Strategy collision map, nearly all Oak Bay accidents with deer occur on Cadboro Bay Rd across from the Uplands golf course. We’ve even held a demonstration on the road, encouraging people to slow down, and speeding was still evident.

While this accident occurred a few blocks south of the main ‘Deer Accident’ corridor, it’s still indicative of attitudes on this stretch of road – that speeding is somehow okay. This needs to be addressed, for the safety of people and deer. Furthermore, there needs to be more lighting.

Something needs to be done about this stretch of road, and we’ll continue to demonstrate here – if you’d like to get updates on our activities, please join our email list.

Also, visit our Greater Victoria Deer Advocates page, with a digital copy of our new Living With Deer booklet, to be distributed to Oak Bay households in early February.

Dave Shishkoff
Canadian Correspondent
Friends of Animals
Web Site: http://FriendsofAnimals.org
Victoria: http://TheVictoriaVegan.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2496490922
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FoA_Victoria
FoA Vegan Starter Guide PDF: http://bit.ly/foa-vsg

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Oak Bay: Slow Down for Deer!

On Friday, December 20th, from 4-5pm, seven other deer activists joined me on Cadboro Bay Road across from the Uplands Golf Course on a frigid, rainy night holding bright signs to persuade drivers to slow down. Our media release can be read here.

This section of road is the #1 site for deer fatalities in Oak Bay, according to the CRD Deer Management Strategy Map (see graphic to the right).

It's no coincidence, given the factors that make up this stretch: it's the only road in Oak Bay with a 50kph speed limit (and many speed here.) The road is poorly lit, and trees along the west side of the road make it hard to see if there are deer, and they can easily step out on the road and get hit.

You can see on the map there are almost no other areas that accidents have occurred. This is why we targeted this area: this is solvable.

We definitely had an impact - most cars slowed when they spotted us. Several drove by dangerously, clearly above the marked speed limit. It would be helpful if Oak Bay Council installed flashing speed signs in this spot, to remind drivers that they need to obey speed limits.

Much needs to be done, and it is achievable and could significantly reduce accidents. Lighting can be improved, speeds can be controlled, which would have the most impact. A full fence will be unpopular with the Uplands Golf Course, but other solutions exist: there could be more shrubs grown, motion-sensor lights and radios could be installed, and roadside reflector technology which lights up the road when a car passes could also be helpful in keeping deer away from the trees and road.

Come on, Oak Bay - let's do it!

Media:




Thanks to our volunteers for braving the elements!

If you're on Facebook, join our Greater Victoria Deer Advocates group, otherwise sign-up to our email list to get updates on deer and more.

Dave Shishkoff
Canadian Correspondent
Friends of Animals
Web Site: http://FriendsofAnimals.org
Victoria: http://TheVictoriaVegan.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2496490922
Twitter: http://Twitter.com/FoA_Victoria
FoA Vegan Starter Guide PDF: http://bit.ly/foa-vsg