Williams Lake’s “Y” intersection tops the charts as the location of the most crashes in the city in recent years, according to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia’s (ICBC) latest data.
There were 94 crashes recorded at the intersection from 2017 to 2021.
ICBC released vehicle crash data for the province recently, and three hot spots in the city stand out on the map and appear to be higher than many similar-sized municipalities.
Crash data was provided for the years 2017 to 2021 and separated property damage-only crashes from what they refer to as casualty crashes, ones which resulted in injury or fatality.
There were 19 crashes in 2021 alone at Oliver Street, Highway 20 and Highway 97, known to many locally as the “Y” intersection. Four of those crashes resulted in casualty crashes. Thirty-one one of the total 94 crashes resulted in one or more casualties.
Second place, and not far behind was the intersection of Highway 20 and Mackenzie Avenue with 80 total crashes. Twenty-four of which resulted in a casualty or casualties.
The third-ranked hot spot for crashes in Williams Lake is the intersection of Highway 20 and South Lakeside Drive, with 53 crashes since 2017, 22 of which were resulted in injury.
How do Williams Lake intersections stack up against similar sized cities in the province based on 2016 census numbers? In 2016, Williams Lake has a recorded census population of 10,753.
North Saanich, which has a population of 11,249, saw 49 crashes at their worst intersection, while Nelson, with a population of 10,572 saw 62 crashes at their worst intersection. Of those crashes, 24 in North Saanich resulted in casualty crashes, 26 in Nelson.
Coldstream, with a population of 10,648, had 47 crashes at their worst intersection, 20 resulted in injury.
Quesnel’s worst intersection logged 62 crashes with ICBC over those five years.
Although still far below pre-pandemic levels, intersections in B.C. continue to be the site of tens of thousands of car crashes a year. In 2021 alone, ICBC logged 87,000 intersection car crashes, up from 74,000 in 2020, but significantly down from 110,000 in 2018.
Crash location information is self reported, not always verifiable and the data doesn’t include parking lots or other private property.
With files from Michael Bramadat-Willcock
news@wltribune.com
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