A Chilliwack woman has started a petition to save geese from speeding cars on Vedder Road.
Sabrina Torrance is asking the City of Chilliwack to lower the speed limit or put up reflective warning signs on a busy stretch of the road around Sardis Park, between Stevenson Road and Britton/Spruce Road.
Groups of geese and ducks often cross the street and they don’t wait for a break in traffic. Torrance said there were three geese hit between June 16 and 24 alone. She noted there is also an elementary school (Sardis elementary at Vedder and Manuel Road) in the area.
“Kids do live nearby and they do not need to see or experience a national animal getting hit and left on the side of the road,” she wrote. “This will also make it not just safer for the geese but safer for the kids and adults who live nearby.”
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The speed limit on Vedder Road is currently 50 kilometres an hour, but it’s frequently exceeded by drivers going north or south on the four-lane (two each way) artery.
“Every person who does not slow down for these amazing creatures is disrespecting our country and the Canadian geese, as they are our national bird!” Torrance wrote. “It breaks my heart to see this happening, and I do not want my kid or any other kid to see this tragedy when walking or driving down the road.”
As of 9 a.m. Friday morning the petition’s signature count was 223, almost halfway to a goal of 500.
Facebook users responding to a post in the Living in Chilliwack group expressed support for motorists to slow down on Vedder.
“(I) don’t know why people have to drive so fast in that area,” Janet Penner wrote. “I was stopped at 10 a.m. and 2 cars go flying past in the inside lane, just missing them by a hair.”
“I watched a mother goose and her babies get run over today,” added Lisa Lou. “Please slow down people!”
View or sign the petition online at change.org/p/city-of-chilliwack-slow-down-for-the-canadian-geese-and-other-waterfowl-at-this-crossing