Slow down, pay attention and follow the rules of the road.
New data from ICBC is serving as another reminder of the above advice for Tri-Cities commuters as they're often heard from officials and police on a weekly basis.
According to the provincial agency, the region hosted three of the most dangerous and crash-prone intersections in the Lower Mainland — and the entire province — in 2021:
- Brunette Avenue and Highway 1 (Coquitlam)
- Tied for third on the Lower Mainland's top 10
- Highway 1 cape horn (Coquitlam)
- Fifth on the Lower Mainland's top 10
- Broadway Street and Mary Hill Bypass (Port Coquitlam)
- Eighth on the Lower Mainland's top 10
The data was published on June 30, 2022, but accounts for all crashes in the region, including fatal incidents.
Brunette Avenue and Highway 1 saw 184 motor vehicle collisions last year — an increase of 26 per cent from 146 in 2020.
There were 164 crashes at the Highway 1 exits through Coquitlam to the Port Mann Bridge, which is 11 per cent more than the year before (148).
As clarified by ICBC and also known as the cape horn, it refers to 152 Street and its on- and off-ramps; Coleman Avenue and the Coleman Avenue on-ramp; Fawcett Road and Ferguson Diversion and Guildford Drive and Highway 7 off-ramp and Highway 7B off-ramp and Leeder Street and Lougheed Highway and Lougheed Highway on-ramp and Mary Hill Bypass and Mary Hill Bypass on-ramp and Trans Canada Highway.
Port Coquitlam's intersection of Broadway Street and the Mary Hill Bypass saw 135 collisions last year.
The good news: that's actually a decrease of 10 per cent from 150 in 2020.
The statistics come as Port Coquitlam mayor Brad West is calling for interchanges to replace dangerous Broadway and Shaughnessy Street intersections.
The most dangerous in all of B.C. was Highway 1 and 264 Street in Aldergrove — 217 in 2021.
Altogether, ICBC calculated 5,068 reported crashes last year at intersections across the Tri-Cities:
- Coquitlam = 3,234 crashes
- Port Coquitlam = 1,457 crashes
- Port Moody = 369 crashes
- Anmore = Seven crashes
- Belcarra = One crash in 2021
ICBC says there were 24 fatal crashes throughout the Lower Mainland in 2020, while there were 40,000 injured victims out of 65,000 incidents in 2021.
A fatal victim refers to a road user who died within 30 days after the date an injury was sustained in a crash involving at least one motor vehicle, the provincial agency states.
Fatalities also exclude roads where the motor vehicle act does not apply, such as forest-service roads, industrial roads and private driveways.
- with files from Jess Balzer, Burnaby NOW
