Victoria, British Columbia Speed Traps

Coming Westbound on McKenzie, as you are heading towards the Trans Canada Highway. Usually a unmarked IRSU Crown Vic parked on the far end of the Interurban bridge, hidden in the shrubs on the right hand side. They will wave you over.

Vancouver Island’s Integrated Road Safety unit has a nice spot, outbound up the Trans Canada Highway, right after the Helmcken exit. They sit in the median and on the right shoulder. Usually 2 or 3 Cruisers. They will wave you over. Slow down as you go underneath Helmcken, otherwise they pick you off with laser. I’ve been nailed here twice. Enforcement is the worst during the AM rush and PM rush.

On Sooke Road (Highway 14) coming into Sooke where the double lanes of traffic blend into one lane. Sooke road becomes very windy after the merge to a single lane. The speed limit drops from 80k to 60k immediately and of course everyone is trying to pass the slower cars before they have to travel the 15k to Sooke on a single lane of traffic. There is usually a radar trap right there in the mornings and afternoons. If you are traveling 85k to pass a large vehicle hauling logs that is when they get you because the speed drops to 60k.

Fernwood Ave. between Bay and Fort Streets is entirely a 30kmph zone. It’s a decpetive limit because the stretch between Bay and Fort is rather long, and there’s only one school on Fernwood (Victoria High School about halfway along).

The police LOVE to nail people there, and have little tolerance for even 5kmph over the limit. They’ll literally ticket you for any speed over 30kmph. There are numerous obscured spots where they can sit and have coffee & donuts while enforcing the blantantly ludicrous 30kmph limit.

So watch out at all times of day–but especially in the mornings and afternoons. If you want to see your insurance rates rise into the stratosphere, simply drive 40kmph along Fernwood a few times without being extra vigilant

Quadra St. between Finlayson and Bay Streets was recently reduced from two lanes to one to make room for a bicycle lane and landscaping. Formerly, the speed limit for Quadra in this stretch was 50kmph.

With the reduction to a single lane road, the speed limit on Quadra has been reduced to 40kmph.

The police prefer to set up radar traps southbound on Quadra approaching Hillside Ave.; and northbound on Quadra near Hillside (often in the Mac’s Milk parking lot).

It’s very possible to proceed at the "common sense" speed limit of 50kmph–just keep your eyes peeled. The radar traps are easy to see if you’re on the lookout for them.