Dentist drills roundabout decision

By Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star Published: July 17, 2008

A Vernon dentist sees a proposed roundabout in front of his office at the intersection of 32nd Avenue and Pleasant Valley Road as one big cavity. Karl Denk, a partner in the Pleasant Valley Dental Clinic, has started a petition campaign at his office, asking Vernon council and city staff to reconsider a plan to construct a roundabout at the intersection, which is currently serviced by a four-way stop with a flashing light. “I have well over 100 names on the petition so far,” said Denk, who believes having the roundabout next to his business will put his patients at risk. Denk said he has upwards of 5,000 patients, and a roundabout will eliminate some necessary patient parking. The clinic’s office manager, Carole Giesbrecht, said a roundabout would result in “drive-by flossing” at the clinic’s window.

Ed Stranks, a municipal development technician with the city, told Vernon council Monday he’s met with Denk to go over the dentist’s concerns. “We went over the digital designing drawings for our plans, we talked about his issues, including the loss of parking. That’s related more to the installation of bike lanes, not the roundabout,” said Stranks. “We’ll look at the designs and see if they can be tweaked and try to help him out. I didn’t guarantee anything. “He seemed to be OK that somebody from engineering came and talked to him.” Denk, however, is anything but OK with the fact that a roundabout, proposed to be built about eight feet by his front door, was pushed through without anybody from the city talking to him about it. The clinic is the only business in that area. “I’m not happy at all,” said Denk. “This whole thing was presented to council without anything being surveyed. The city did not do its homework on this.”

Coun. Barry Beardsell, one of four councillors who voted in favour of the roundabout, said if staff is preparing a further report on the traffic circle, he wants a report relating to prior activity at the clinic’s office, which was formerly a heritage home. “Council bent over backwards for this individual who wanted to change from a heritage house,” said Beardsell. “Now he’s a drive-by dentist? If that’s the kind of business he has, he should be in the central district, or commercial district, and not on East Hill.” Couns. Juliette Cunningham, Buffy Baumbrough and Pat Cochrane, who requested an update on the roundabout from staff, also voted in favour of installing a traffic circle at the intersection. Coun. Patrick Nicol and Mayor Wayne Lippert were opposed, while Coun. Jack Gilroy was absent from the original vote.