This project will identify needs for and install road safety signage, and conduct community-led engagement regarding road safety for vulnerable road users.

Road safety is a high priority issue for Sts'ailes First Nation. We are concerned about the potential for conflict between drivers and non-vehicular road users. We want our community members to be safe—and feel safe—when they are out walking, jogging, cycling or using mobility scooters to go to the store or school, or simply getting outside for fresh air. We hope that this project will catalyze community engagement about road safety in our community.

We have a K-12 school with buses serving the school daily five days a week with marked bus stops and people walking along the roads to and from these stops to get to the school or back home. Some children’s guardians drive them to and from the school or daycare, further adding to local traffic. Commercial traffic is also a concern, as there is quite a lot of construction in the community bringing large heavy vehicles. Additionally, since the start of the pandemic there has been a noted increase in delivery vehicles from online retailers.

We are going to start with improving safety signage in the community. By reviewing existing signs, developing a signage plan, and prioritizing implementation in locations with higher potential for conflicts between vehicular and non-vehicular road users (such as at the community school and daycare and near bus stops) we hope to improve safety and raise awareness of the importance of considerate driving and of the vulnerability of non-vehicular road users in our community. Currently there are only two off-street walkways in the Sts'ailes: one is paved, the other unpaved, and they cover only a small portion of the total community street network. We would like to improve the condition and extent of these off-street active transportation facilities, as well as look at other actions we could consider to improve road safety in Sts'ailes.