Extension Road in South Nanaimo is the only road in or out of the Chase River/Cinnabar Valley area.  It passes by two elementary schools, parks, and numerous family homes.  Only certain portions of the road have sidewalks or active transportation lanes.  This road is utilized by thousands of vehicles daily.

Many vehicles on Extension Road frequently travel in excess of the local speed limits and with little regard for public safety.  There have been numerous incidents of vehicle accidents on this corridor over the years - most recently a vehicle careened through the fence at Chase River Elementary School.  If this incident had not occurred in the middle of the night, playing elementary school students would have been directly in the path of this vehicle.  Other incidents over the years have seen power to the area disrupted due to vehicles crashing through telephone poles, property damage from vehicles hitting private homes and property, and unfortunately at least 1 fatality where Extension Road meets the Trans Canada highway.

City of Nanaimo Staff have brought forward a reasonable, easy to implement plan to introduce proven traffic calming measures to this area that would make a marked and immediate improvement to traffic, pedestrian, and resident safety.  By signing this position, we call on the Mayor and Council to urgently approve the proposed traffic calming measures on Extension Road to be implemented fully as soon as possible.  Every day of delay puts residents and visitors to the area at risk of further dangerous accidents of the type that this stretch of road is notorious for.

Further information on the proposed traffic calming measures can be found on the City of Nanaimo website: Extension Road Traffic Calming

In addition to signing this petition, please express your support of this project directly to city staff at extensioncalming@nanaimo.ca , and to Nanaimo City Council at mayor.council@nanaimo.ca .