The wrong direction

By Richard Rolke Jun 20 2007 http://www.vernonmorningstar.com/

I have to wonder when Coun. Pat Cochrane last spent any time in Westbank and specifically navigating its one-way highway network? If he has, he wouldn’t be suggesting such a mess take place within Vernon. As a product of Westbank, I saw what happened to that community in the mid-1980s when a decision was made to turn the two-lane Highway 97 into two separate routes, one north-bound and one south-bound, about a block apart from each other. The impact was immediate as short jaunts to a business now meant going around the block and stopping at two lights to reach it. Initially, some oldtimers just ignored the direction of traffic and went the wrong way in an attempt to get to the barber or coffee shop. A compact, pedestrian-friendly downtown core was ripped apart. With two new lanes of highway opening up more developable land, strip malls took hold, signifying the death of historic Main Street. Now it should be pointed out that a couplet system (as the one-ways in Westbank are known) wasn’t the only option for handling traffic load.

The Ministry of Transportation also considered a bypass around the community, but merchants feared that would spell the end of their business and tourists wouldn’t make their way into town. But if you go through Westbank now, rarely do you see anyone stop downtown. The highway has become a speedway and it’s virtually impossible to safely pull off. As an example, I almost had my back end ripped off as I tried to do so at Christmas. I understand Cochrane’s concerns about Vernon and the need to find alternatives to narrow, bumper-to-bumper 32nd Street (Highway 97). It isn’t a safe situation and it has only got worse in my 17 years here. My greatest fear is a transport truck is going to lose control on Hospital Hill and slam into vehicles and pedestrians right next to Polson Park. But like most Okanagan communities, a lack of planning and unexpected growth has left decades-old road networks unable to keep up, and there are no easy options.

The one option the city came up with — the western truck route — has essentially been shelved because of widespread public opposition. And who can blame people for being up in arms? Largely the brainchild of former mayor Sean Harvey, the truck route would have ripped through existing Mission Hill and Okanagan Landing neighbourhoods before tearing a scar into the high-elevation Bella Vista highlands. It would have also funnelled motorists and their wallets away from downtown merchants. And as for Cochrane’s notion of extending 27th Street to link up with Highway 97, it would do little to ease congestion as 27th Street is already busy. And the prospect of a concrete overpass going through Polson Park just leaves me shaking my head.
Other alternatives fall into the transportation demand management category — primarily getting locals out of their cars and into transit buses. But no matter how many buses the city puts on the road, that plan will only work if we, as citizens, change our habits and cut our umbilical cord with cars, trucks and SUVs. Ultimately, I have no solutions to Vernon’s traffic woes, but I know from experience, which route should be completely abandoned.