Andrea Mears is afraid someone could be injured or killed at the border of Burnaby and New Westminster.
But Mears isn't afraid of a city border dispute - it's the traffic driving around the area of Cariboo Park at the intersection of Cariboo Road and 10th Avenue that worries her.
"Two days ago, we were almost hit," Mears, a New Westminster resident, said in an interview last month. "I'm crossing the street, I've got the stroller, I've got the kids, somebody looks down the hill - they're stopped, and I'm right beside them - and they start turning. I'm yelling at them, pulling my kids back."
The intersection is problematic for a lot of reasons, she said, but most of all, for pedestrians. Mears' four-year-old attends Pied Piper Preschool in Burnaby, and the family walks there and to Cariboo Park, as well.
"Coming around that corner, it's very treacherous because people look for cars but they never look for pedestrians," Mears said. "People just drive like lunatics, and they don't look when they're turning corners."
People often drive on the sidewalk when they're turning left from Cariboo Road, heading towards North Road, she said.
"It's crazy out here," Mears added. Traffic already cuts through the side streets in the area, but Mears said she is worried there will be even more of that happening as people use the Pattullo Bridge to avoid paying tolls on the new Port Mann Bridge.
She sees drivers speeding along Kent Street, she said, even though there are schools and parks in the area.
The 30 km/hr zone around Cariboo Park doesn't deter speeders, she added.
"People never do 30," Mears said. There is a speed bump at the crest of the hill, but Mears would like to see one put in near the troublesome intersection, or perhaps a special turn lane, she said.
She would also like to see the narrow sidewalks widened, she said, explaining that there isn't a boulevard between traffic and the sidewalk.
"I've got a new walker here - he doesn't want to go in the stroller, he wants to walk on the sidewalk - and the sidewalk's pretty narrow," she said. "I don't want him to walk."
She has been in touch with the City of New Westminster since the summer, but the situation has not been resolved, she said.
Jerry Behl, a transportation engineer with the city, said he has been looking into the issue.
"What we're planning to do is have a quick review of that location next year," he said, adding he is also communicating with the City of Burnaby.
Once the area is assessed, it will be prioritized depending on other sidewalk and safety needs in New Westminster, Behl said. "It's a difficult choice to make sometimes," he added.
He also mentioned the narrowness of the sidewalk and said the city may consider what can be done about it.
"There's no boulevard to separate pedestrians and the traffic, so you're pretty close to the traffic," he said, adding, "we do have some land on that side."
The city will pull accident statistics for the area and examine some of the issues there, he said.
"We tend to do a few feasibility studies and then see what's the most efficient use of our money, cost-effective-wise," Behl said. "First we'll look to see what the problems and what the solutions are."
Doug Louie, assistant director of engineering for the City of Burnaby, said in an email that he has been communicating with Behl about the issue.
"When New West develops some preliminary recommendations that may involve Burnaby, I would expect a meeting with New West to discuss," he wrote. "If we develop a consensus at the end of the day, we may share in the cost and/or enforcement effort based on jurisdictional boundaries, but also on available funding and priorities.
"I would not expect any problems working with New West on a safety initiative that could benefit both municipalities," he added.
