Are there more fatal and serious crashes on the Langley portion of 16th Avenue because it's hillier here than in neighbouring communities?

Or is it the type of the traffic on the route?

Langley Township Councillor Charlie Fox isn't sure of the reason, but he wants to do something about it.

"I don't know if there's something unique about the configuration of our [section of 16th Avenue]," he said.

He believes a key factor is its change over time from an agricul-tural road to a TransLink route.

"It's a TransLink road, and that's part of the problem," he said.

Fox said speed bumps put on Zero Avenue redirected many users to 16th Avenue, which has also seen a substantial increase in commercial vehicles because it runs through the Fraser Valley with easy access to several border crossings. As well, more industrial development has taken place closer to the border, such as the Campbell Heights industrial area of South Surrey.

Fox planned to start the ball rolling on changes to make 16th Avenue safer with a motion, asking the Township to work with its partners, at last night's council meeting.

He's asking for several options to be examined, including greenwave to control traffic flow, roundabouts, pull-outs, and anything else experts can suggest.

Greenwave would put traffic lights at each major intersection (approximately each mile). They would be sychronized so a vehicle travelling the speed limit would hit green lights, but speeders would be stopping quite a bit.

As well, he's asking to look at roundabouts "as long as they are big enough to allow commercial traffic to pass through."

Another suggestion is more pull-outs to allow more police enforcement.

"One of the big problems on 16th Avenue is there are only two pull-out places where police can set up," Fox said.

Fox is concerned that traffic volumes will increase on 16th Avenue as people try to avoid the Port Mann Bridge tolls.

He said that, in the seven years he's been on council, he hasn't seen a traffic survey of 16th Avenue.

About four years ago, his motion asking to make the route safer was defeated.

While the fatal crashes receive more attention, there are many significant accidents along that route, he noted.

Two people died in a crash when an SUV tried to pass and a dump truck between 200th and 208th Streets on Sept. 13. A Langley man was killed in January 2011 when hit by a dump truck.

In 2008, a teen was killed when his vehicle left the road at 251st Street.

And in 2010, a 26-year-old man was killed at 192nd Street, near the Surrey/Langley border.

hcolpitts@langleyadvance.com