Dear editor,
I have just returned to Vancouver after visiting my sister, who is in St. Joseph's General Hospital.
She was run down by a vehicle while crossing on foot at the "four corners" in Comox (intersection of Comox Avenue and Church Street).
Her injuries are not life-threatening but she is in a great deal of pain and will need a long recuperation period and extensive therapy. An investigation into the accident is underway.
Watching the traffic at this corner is like looking at an accident waiting to happen. Yes, there are four-way stop signs and yes, for the most part drivers obey them.
But from then on it is a free-for-all as to who goes first and who yields. The situation is worsened by having left-turn lanes on Comox Avenue in both directions.
If a driver makes a mistake, two cars colliding at low speed result in relatively minor property damage. But for a poor pedestrian like my sister, the result can be devastating.
I find it hard to believe this is the first accident at this intersection. Will it take a death for action to be taken? I ask, why aren't traffic lights installed at the intersection of Comox and Church?
Neil McBurney,
Vancouver