This morning the Township of Esquimalt held a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the construction of the new crosswalk located near the intersection of Grafton Street and Esquimalt Road. For the cutting of the ribbon, Mayor Barb Desjardins was joined by Jeff Miller, Esquimalt’s Director of Engineering and Public Works, and Inspector Darrell McLean of the Victoria Police Department West Division.
“We are committed to making our community safe and accessible for all residents,” said Mayor Barb Desjardins. “Before the crosswalk was built, seniors were forced to walk either uphill or downhill from this spot to get to their bus stops. We now have safe and easy access for all of our residents, particularly those with mobility challenges.”
The crosswalk, completed on October 5th, includes LED (light emitting diode) lighting powered by solar panels and it has no underground electrical components. It is located at the 1300 block of Esquimalt Road near the Esquimalt Lions Grafton Lodge, a seniors housing residence which opened in 2004, and St. Paul’s Anglican Church.
This is the second crosswalk constructed by the municipality on Esquimalt Road in the past four months. A crosswalk was also built at 1188 Esquimalt Road in July 2009 to allow for a safe crossing to the Esquimalt Plaza for seniors and other residents.
As outlined in the 2009-2011 Strategic Plan, Esquimalt is working towards ensuring the community’s pedestrian network is safer for all users including those with disabilities. The construction of these crosswalks helps achieve this goal along with the goals of other accessibility initiatives.
An accessibility audit was conducted in Esquimalt to develop a comprehensive strategy to make the Township accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities. The full report of this audit is available online.
For more information, please contact:
Ritchie Morrison, Communications Coordinator
Tel: 250-414-7122