Delaying a dog walk by half an hour may not sound too important in the larger scheme of things, but for Marc Porpaczy it could have been a life-saving decision.
On January 19, just before 8 p.m., Porpaczy was watching TV with his wife when he heard a loud bang outside his house in the Colwood suburb of Greater Victoria.
MUST SEE MOMENT: A car hits an opening and hovers over a quiet residential street in #Colwood.
Fortunately, both passengers were only slightly injured.
Now the neighbors have gone from frustrated to angry, saying the need for sidewalks couldn’t be more obvious. @GoldstreamNews pic.twitter.com/bcorBFIVWt
– Aaron Guillen (@iaaronguillen) January 25, 2021
Porpaczy’s worst suspicions were confirmed when he peered outside and saw a car lying in a ditch a few doors down from his own. Fragments of windshield glittered on his neighbor’s driveway, and chunks of concrete from a culvert lay on his own driveway.
West Shore RCMP believes the driver lost control while driving downhill on Milburn Drive. Const. Nancy Saggar, press secretary, said police believe speeding is a factor, but the driver is not affected.
While the driver got out alone, the firefighters demanded the Jaws of Life to get the passenger out. Both suffered minor injuries and were hospitalized.
“The fact is, I or one of my neighbors could have been on the street that night,” said Porpaczy, who recorded a video with raised eyebrows in which the vehicle and its surveillance camera crashed into the exhaust duct. “I don’t want to use this video to raise awareness of what happened, but residents have gone from frustrated to angry.”
However, the video underscored the neighborhood’s long-standing concerns about poor pedestrian safety.
Porpaczy’s neighbor, Brad Windsor, has been campaigning for years to install sidewalks along Milburn Drive. Last year he brought a petition with around 250 signatures to the council, spoke to city officials and shared his concerns at council meetings. Since then, the council has made no more promises.
In August 2018, the city released a public survey that found that 61 percent of respondents agree with traffic calming measures along Milburn Drive and Lagoon Drive that are below the 75 percent required to drive change.
“It’s not an isolated incident. I just hope it doesn’t take a worse crash for the Council to take action. There is no reason to be optimistic until they prioritize this road, “said Windsor.
Porpaczy – who said there have been three serious accidents there in three years – drives his four-year-old grandson down the road to the lagoon instead of walking.
When he walks down Milburn Drive in the evening, he uses a flashlight and looks over his shoulder regularly.
Colwood Mayor Rob Martin said the council will be considering a list of priority routes to start building new sidewalks with bike paths in March. The city is committed to a program that creates new sidewalks every year. Two sections of the sidewalk are scheduled to be built this year on Metchosin Road and Painter Road.
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aaron.guillen@goldstreamgazette.com
Car Accident Colwood
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Brad Windsor has been an advocate of installing walkways along Milburn Drive in Colwood for years, but to no avail. He wants the city council to commit to making Milburn a priority road for pavement building in the future. (Aaron Guillen / News Agent)
Marc Porpaczy said he was glad he postponed his daily walk with his dog Juno after a car crashed just outside his driveway on Tuesday, January 25, just before 8 p.m. (Aaron Guillen / News Staff)
Marc Porpaczy said he was glad he postponed his daily walk with his dog Juno after a car crashed just outside his driveway on Tuesday, January 25, just before 8 p.m. (Aaron Guillen / News Staff)
