Traffic woes: Victoria-by-the-Sea working to address safety concerns

Officials with a village on P.E.I's south shore say while an increase in tourists is positive for the area,the extratraffic is causing somesafety concerns in the community.

The streets in Victoria-by-the-Sea, P.E.I., are packed with visitors. Community representatives say over the past couple of years, thenumber of touristshassoared.

The village only has about 100 full-time residents, but during the summer months the population swells.

'Make it safer for everyone'

With all those tourists comes lots of extra pedestrians and vehicles,according toBen Smith, chair of the Victoria-by-the-Sea council.

"Some of the cars you know, go a little too fast and so we're trying to make it safer for everyone," he said.

Smith said one of the ways council is tackling the congestion is by repairing the crumbling seawall and creating a walking path.

"This walking path will take people out of the core of the village up to where they park their car," Smith said.

"It's a very pleasant walk. It eliminates a very dangerous corner down on Nelson and Water Street, which has very poor visibility and no sidewalks."

Smith added that council is also considering the possibility next year of closing the village's main street to traffic for pedestrians onlyor making it a one-way.

He added none of those options will happen this summer.

Tourist supports safety initiatives

Mandy Dhami from England was one of the many tourists exploring the streets of Victoria-by-the-Sea. She said a pedestrian-only street would be especially welcome to visitors with children.

"You've got people with buggies like myself and children who we can't let out on the road." she said.

"And at the same time you've got all these cafes, where we couldn't sit out. It'd be nice to be able to let my son loose while I was having a nice cup of tea."

She also supports the idea of a walking path.

"Itseems odd to want to wander around on the main roads because you think that just leads to people's houses, but if there was a walking path that would give us an indication that there's something that tourists should look at," Dhami said.

The community has received $1.2 million in funding from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency to help with various projects including the walking path and a green space.

"The walkway from the wharf will connect with this green space and no one has to go on any street in the village to get to where they're parking," said Smith.

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