VICTORIA – With Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes recently calling on the province to lower speed limits on residential streets, statistics from ICBC paint a picture of some of the most dangerous intersections across Vancouver Island.

According to the insurance company, the intersections with the highest number of recorded crashes can all be found in the Central and South Island, with Saanich laying claim to the most dangerous intersection.

According to the most recent data from ICBC, which is from 2017, the Vancouver Island intersection with the highest number of recorded crashes can be found at the McKenzie interchange area at McKenzie Avenue and the Trans-Canada Highway turning lane.

In 2017, ICBC recorded 111 crashes at the highway intersection. 

Meanwhile, Nanaimo commuters should pay particular attention to the intersection of Aulds Road and the Nanaimo Parkway. According to ICBC, the busy onramp and offramp site saw 100 reported crashes in 2017, making it the second-most dangerous on the island.

Further south, in Victoria, the intersection that saw the third-highest amount of crashes on the island can be found when entering the downtown core. In 2017, ICBC recorded 81 crashes at the intersection of Blanshard Street and Saanich Road.

When compiling these statistics, the insurance company did not include crashes that occurred in parking lots or that involved parked vehicles.

Last week, Saanich Mayor Fred Haynes called on the province to reduce residential speed limits following what he describes as an “epidemic of road crash fatalities, serious injuries, collisions and near misses" on the municipality’s streets.

Other island politicians have made similar appeals to the province, including Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps who threw her support behind a resolution to lower speed limits on some residential streets at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention back in September.

The top 10 most dangerous intersections on Vancouver Island, according to ICBC data for the year 2017, are:
 

  1. McKenzie Avenue and Trans Canada Highway turning lane (111 reported crashes)
     
  2. Aulds Road and Nanaimo Parkway (100 reported crashes)
     
  3. Blanshard Street and Saanich Road (81 reported crashes)
     
  4. Patricia Bay Highway and Sayward Road (74 reported crashes)
     
  5. Bowen Road and Island Highway North (71 reported crashes)
     
  6. Bay Street and Blanshard Street (69 reported crashes)
     
  7. Millstream Road and Trans-Canada Highway (69 reported crashes)
     
  8. Aulds Road and Island Highway North (61 reported crashes)
     
  9. Douglas Street and Finlayson Street (61 reported crashes)
     
  10. Admirals Road and Island Highway (60 reported crashes)