A recent report from ICBC is highlighting some of Vancouver Island's most dangerous intersections, or at least those where crashes are most frequent.
While Saanich laid claim to the top crash intersection on Vancouver Island, with Nanaimo and Langford each bringing some of their respective intersections into the top 10, no Sooke streets made the list – though that doesn't mean they were immune to crashes.
In 2024, the intersection of Derbend, Edward Milne, Sooke and Sooke River roads was the site where crashes most frequently occurred in Sooke, with a total of 19. It's a relatively small amount considering the intersection with the 10th most crashes on Vancouver Island totalled 57, while the number one spot (Saanich) had 87.
Following that, the Church, Goodmere and Sooke roads intersection, along with the Sooke and Woodlands roads intersection, tied for second in the district with 13 crashes each in 2024.
The Belvista Place, Phillips and Sooke roads intersection followed closely behind with nine crashes.
These three locations account for 22.2 per cent of the crashes in the district last year, with an additional 198 crashes taking place throughout the municipality.
The top 10 intersections with the most crashes in Sooke are:
|
Location |
|
|
DERBEND RD & EDWARD MILNE RD & SOOKE RD & SOOKE RIVER RD & TURNING LANE |
19 |
|
CHURCH RD & GOODMERE RD & SOOKE RD |
13 |
|
SOOKE RD & WOODLANDS RD |
13 |
|
BELVISTA PL & PHILLIPS RD & SOOKE RD & TURNING LANE |
9 |
|
CONNIE RD & GILLESPIE RD & GILLESPIE RD RAMP & SOOKE RD & TURNING LANE |
8 |
|
MURRAY RD & OTTER POINT RD & SOOKE RD & WEST COAST RD |
8 |
|
SOOKE RD & SOOKE RIVER BRIDGE |
7 |
|
BROWNSEY BLVD & SOOKE RD & MALL ACCESS |
6 |
|
ELLA RD & GRANT RD W & WEST COAST RD |
6 |
Overall, there was a 13 per cent increase in the total number of crashes from 2023 to 2024, with 243 crashes reported in 2024. That's a 20 per cent increase from 2020, when only 193 crashes were reported.
While the numbers have increased, it may be a product of the district's growing population, which increased by 16 per cent from 2016 to 2021.
Despite the Derbend intersection having the most crashes in Sooke this year, this is the only year it has done so during the report period from 2020-2024.
Meanwhile, the intersection of Connie and Gillespie roads, which saw the most crashes overall between 2020 and 2024 (averaging 14.2 a year), saw only eight crashes in 2024 and fell outside the top three. This could be attributed to the opening of the four-lane section of highway that was completed in 2023 between Glinz and Connie roads.
