Government

When I was posted in the Okanagan in the 1990s I was answering phones in the detachment dispatch office. A caller from Summerland asked what would happen if he decided to take his protest sign down to the highway and conduct his own personal blockade. He expressed the opinion that if he did that the police would arrive quickly and if he did not move he would be removed.

Currently the B.C. Motor Vehicle Act sets a speed limit of 50 km/h on municipal streets when a different speed limit has not been posted by signs. A recent survey by Research Co. found that 58% of British Columbians would definitely or probably like to see residential speed limits of 30 km/h.

Our provincial government has announced that all 35 intersections with speed cameras will be in full operation by spring of this year. First introduced in 2019 fifteen red light cameras with the added ability to check vehicle speeds were installed at high risk intersections.

Life is interesting. I spent my traffic enforcement career making sure that "other" forms of transportation did not share our highways. Cars and trucks, motorcycles and bicycles, fine. Segways, skateboards, go karts, bicycles with gas motors, not here in B.C. thank you. Now the B.C. government has made changes to the Motor Vehicle Act to allow some of these "other" vehicles and is soliciting municipalities to conduct pilot projects on their use.

Question: I was asked to comment on an interesting "exchange of views" on Facebook regarding a no left turn sign posted by the Delta School District at Richardson Elementary School. It began as a discussion about whether a driver had to obey the sign or not and then deteriorated into less than respectful exchanges.

Our streets, particularly in business and residential districts, are slowly becoming thought of as more than just a place to drive motor vehicles. Citizens are engaging their governments and demanding that streets be re-developed into multi-user spaces that are shared with the entire community.

Slated to take effect in January 2020, BC's Director of Police Services has released new standards aimed at promoting unbiased policing. Sub-section 6.2 of the standards deals with police stops, a term "intended to refer to any interaction between a police officer and a person that is more than a casual conversation and which impedes the person’s movement.”

The Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure has announced proposed changes to the Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) that would allow alternative types of transport such as Segways, e-scooters and electric unicycles to be used legally.

Recent amendments to the Motor Vehicle Act have strengthened the protection for minors who use a party bus. Beginning last April 1, if a minor is on board the bus there must be at least one certified safety monitor that is not the driver present. In addition, the minor must have written consent from their legal guardian.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has released the British Columbia Active Transportation Design Guide. The Guide addresses human powered modes of transportation and focuses primarily on walking, cycling and rolling. However, it also addresses single person electric vehicles such as electric bicycles, scooters, Segways, skateboards and hoverboards.