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The results of a safety review on Saanich’s Prospect Lake Road confirm what residents on the winding, rural road have been saying for years — drivers need to slow down.

Saanich and ICBC launched a third-party review by McElhanney Ltd. in March, following a number of serious crashes on the road in late 2019, including one that claimed the life of a 51-year-old motorcyclist.

Saanich is planning a number of changes to the 7.2-kilometre road as a result of the safety review’s findings, including decreasing the speed limit from 50 kilometres per hour to 30 km/h in the main residential area, between Estelline Road and Goward Road.

Mayor Fred Haynes said residents have been requesting a reduced speed limit on the road for years, and the review showed the idea is backed up by data.

The road, which is popular with motorcyclists and cyclists, has yellow advisory signs posted at some locations warning drivers to slow to 20 or 30 km/h, but those speeds are suggestions. With the speed-limit reduction, anyone going 50 km/h or more could face a ticket.

“And that’s a very powerful enforcement ticket, because it’s big enough to change behaviour,” Haynes said. “Ultimately, many of these things are going to be about changing driver behaviour to slow down and drive more carefully.”

From 2014 to 2019, 118 claims were made to ICBC for crashes on Prospect Lake Road. Saanich police responded to 32 collisions on the corridor between Jan. 1, 2018, and May 22, 2019, according to the safety review.

The district also plans to install a centreline rumble strip in a problem intersection near Munn Road, where drivers have crashed after crossing the centre line, and narrow the road in one 45-metre section near Trevlac Pond from two lanes to one lane. Southbound traffic will yield to those heading north.

Haynes said the changes will mean it takes several minutes longer to drive the length of Prospect Lake Road, from West Saanich Road to West Burnside Road, making it less attractive to commuters cutting through the neighbourhood.

“What I think will happen is it will push the pass-through traffic from Prospect Lake Road over to the Pat Bay highway, particularly those coming in from the airport, from the ferries that go to Google Maps and look for a quick way to the West Shore and up-Island,” said Haynes, who lives on Prospect Lake Road.

Residents have said the volume of traffic on the once-quiet road has increased, as commuters between the West Shore and Saanich look for alternate routes to the congested highway.

About 3,100 vehicles use the road daily, and that number has been increasing about two per cent each year, according to the safety review.

The safety review also estimated 15 to 50 per cent of traffic on the road is non-local, with higher numbers using the cut-through during evening rush hour.

Jeff Shaw of the Prospect Lake District Community Association said most area residents will be happy about the changes.

“The residents of the area who live on the road have been asking for this kind of innovative thinking for a very long time,” he said.

Shaw anticipates some will be upset about the reduced speed limit and one-lane section, but the majority of those who live on the road have been “screaming” for these changes.

Saanich has created a three-stage plan to implement the measures recommended in the report. The next year will see the speed limit reduced, the rumble strip added near Munn Road, narrowing of the road and increased signage.

Within the next five years, the district plans to extend the rumble strip beyond Munn Road and improve sightlines by cutting shrubs and trees. In the long term, Saanich is looking at installing traffic-calming measures and a shoulder, and improving intersections.

Saanich split the $50,000 cost of the safety review with ICBC.

regan-elliott@timescolonist.com