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‘Ban them’: Victoria residents fed up with ginormous trucks in downtown core

Would you like to see a ban?
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Some people are fed up with large pick-up trucks in downtown Victoria. (Tim Bracken photo/X)

The photo attached to this story is of a large pick-up truck that has its box dangerously sticking out into the road.

“Does that look like it fits in the space?” asks Tim Bracken, who posted the photo on X, the site formerly known as Twitter. “Probably the most off road driving this thing will ever do.”

The post was accompanied by the hashtag #Banoversizedtrucks.

The idea of a ban is likely to never go anywhere, but there are a lot of people who live and work in downtown Victoria who love the idea because they say oversized trucks are a menace in an area that isn’t designed for them.

More and more, Victoria is turning into a place that is made for pedestrians and cyclists, with new bike lanes being added every year. Many downtown streets that were designed decades ago can barely handle today’s cars and SUVs, with little-to-no room for larger pick-up trucks.

“I say ban them,” said Colin Smithe, who moved to Victoria a few months ago. “What I love about the downtown Victoria streets is many of them are now designed for cyclists. That’s what we should be looking at, not allowing oversized trucks. Those things are dangerous. Outside of the downtown core is fine, but get rid of these beasts.”

One person who would likely agree is Nell Saba, who regularly posts photos online of her standing in front of oversized pick-up trucks.

One recent post drew a lot of responses.

“These trucks are so dangerously absurd to the point where I will no longer even consider purchasing another (normal) vehicle from the companies that sell them,” wrote one person.

“In Europe you need a C license to drive one of these, and it is expensive and you need skill to get it,” wrote another.

“These vehicles should be banned,” wrote another.

Another person pointed out that apart from the trouble of parking these trucks or going around narrow street corners downtown is the issue of if drivers of trucks that high can actually see pedestrians in front of them.

What do you think? Please let us know (respectfully).

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Chris Campbell

About the Author: Chris Campbell

I joined the Victoria News hub as an editor in 2023, bringing with me over 30 years of experience from community newspapers in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley
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