Savary Island Year Round Traffic Counter
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Traffic Counter News.
ASIC wants to thank our membership for their generous donations to enable the purchase of a traffic counter, which has now arrived. In addition, ASIC has been gifted a laptop on which to log the data, so work will soon begin to get the new equipment operational. You might notice the cables across the road over the coming weeks and months.
ASIC will now be able to document the frequency of road traffic through the year and secure the data required by MOTT to get the road classification increased to level 5 from 6, which would include winter maintenance.
ASIC is also please to announce that Savary resident Anne Troyer has joined the Road subcommittee.
Savary Island needs a traffic counter.
We have to prove to the BC Government (MoTT) that Savary's a busy island that requires better year-round road maintenance for its residents, for the SIVFD's ability to respond to fires and medical emergencies year-round, for the safety of firefighters and First Responders, and for the prevention of costly damage to its equipment and vehicles.
By December 10 2024 the roads were so bad the SIVFD Chief informed the qRD and BC Emergency Health Services that "I have instructed our first responders not to transport any suspected spinal concerns, fractures or dislocations." It's now January 2025 and the roads are in worse shape. MoTT's reply to SIVFD's request for emergency road maintenance is No, there will be no grading until March 2025.
Their refusal stems from a misconception that the island is empty in the off-season. We believe traffic data will change that. Back in 2014-2015 we borrowed a traffic counter from the City of Powell River and that data convinced the Ministry of Transportation that their old road classification of 0-10 vehicles per day was no longer valid for Savary. In 2018 they changed it to 10-100 vehicles per day, averaged across one year. Even that is low, because the data showed the average vehicle traffic count as slightly higher, with daily summer counts in the hundreds.
We have some traffic data from 2023 and 2024 but it's not enough to convince the government of our year-round traffic volume, and we can't keep relying on a counter from the City of Powell River; they've been generous enough. We need a traffic counter here on island for continuous data.
The quote is $2,138 for the counter and accessories, shipping and taxes. The plan is to get a traffic counter soon and begin collecting data ASAP. If you can donate $25 or more you can help make Savary a safer driving experience. If we reach our goal we will let you know. If by chance we exceed the goal all funds will still go towards road-related items like additional counter equipment, printing of reports, etc.
We are now able to accept cheques to PO Box 333, Lund BC V0N 2G0 and can also accept them in person on Savary. Etransfers may be sent to asic@asicsavary.com