Charlie Fox thought his call to improve traffic safety on 16th Avenue would have an easy ride through Township council.

But the councillor's motion encountered some unexpected bumps in the road on Monday night, and eventually stalled in procedural wrangling.

Fox was concerned about increasing traffic problems on the South Langley through-road - a number of them over the years resulting in deadly collisions, including the most recent double-fatal crash between 200th and 208th Streets on Sept. 13.

He asked Township council to approach stakeholders in the TransLink-operated road to try and determine why there are more serious crashes on the stretch through Langley than in the neighbouring municipalities that it also traverses - and to find solutions.

Fox's list included police, ICBC, TransLink, and the City of Surrey, among others.

The first bump in the road for Fox's motion came from Coun. David Davis, who suggested that the problems be studied locally before sending a request for involvement by Surrey.

Fox agreed to a friendly amendment to his motion to meet Davis's concerns.

But other councillors weighed in with further issues.

Coun. Bob Long wanted to "clarify what we want" before approaching anyone else.

Coun. Grant Ward took exception to Fox's entire motion, which he felt was "all wrong from start to finish- this whole motion should be scrapped."

Coun. Steve Ferguson was concerned about expenses that might be incurred in upgrading the 16th Avenue, especially if the road was widened.

Ferguson, who like Fox lives in the vicinity of 16th, agreed that the road has is share of problems: "As soon as we hear emergency vehicles," he said, "we know it's 16th."

In the end, Fox's motion was referred to Township staff for study, with only Fox and Coun. Michelle Sparrow opposed.

Fox could not contain his exasperation after the vote was concluded.

"I'm really frustrated," he told his council colleagues. "I can't believe what I'm hearing at this council table."

Referring to a previous motion calling for 16th Avenue safety upgrades, which was defeated when he brought to the table, Fox said, "We wouldn't be in this situation if you had passed my motion five years ago."

He charged that those outside of the area don't understand how the frustration caused by the dangerous road is causing it to be more dangerous.

editor@langleyadvance.com