VICTORIA -- The District of Saanich has announced a host of new safety upgrades for Prospect Lake Road, a rural street that has been home to a number of fatal vehicle crashes.

The new safety upgrades were announced Thursday following a road safety review that was conducted by the municipality.

“We heard the concerns from the community relating to safety on their roads and proactively did a careful review of the area to see if improvements could be made,” said Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes in a release Thursday.

“The review showed that some staged improvements will make this rural road a lot safer, and we would like to thank the community and all involved for their valuable feedback.”

The district says that several improvements will be made in the short, medium and long term.

In the short term, Saanich says it will take four steps to improve safety on Prospect Lake Road within the next year.

The steps include reducing the speed limit on the road to 30 km/h between Estelline Road and Goward Road, installing a new centreline rumble strip near Munn Road, and narrowing the road to one-way use at Calvert Pond.

The district will also install new signs and improving existing signage and pavement markings in the area.

In the medium term, which Saanich defines as within the next five years, the district will work to extend the centreline rumble strip beyond the Munn Road area.

The municipality says it will also improve sightlines by cutting and removing shrubs and trees on the street. It will also install improved reflective markings along the road.

In the long term, in five years from now and beyond, Saanich says it will widen and construct road shoulders in some areas of Prospect Lake Road.

The district also plans to “improve” the intersection at Prospect Lake Road and Munn Road, as well as at Prospect Lake Road and Munn Road. New traffic calming measures will also be placed along the street.

“While we all still need to do our part to use rural roads safely, implementing these recommendations will provide a marked improvement for this busy area,” said Haynes.

Prospect Lake Road has been the site of several fatal crashes over the past several years. In November, Saanich residents took to the streets calling for safety improvements on the road following a fatal crash between a motorcycle and pick-up truck.

"We are outraged at the fact that nothing has been done to address the problem," said the residents on Nov. 6, 2019.

"It is extremely unsafe. Prospect Lake Road has blind corners, blind hills, no shoulders and in most places no sidewalks. The commuting traffic completely ignores the recommended speed limits on our road, drives aggressively, and disregards the safety of our community."

Saanich says that a third-party contractor helped the municipality conduct its review, and will assist with implementing the new safety upgrades.