Crawling traffic a drag on economy, says study

Steve MacNaull 2008-11-30 Kelowna Daily Courier:
Traffic jams and slowdowns suck about $200 million annually from the Central and North Okanagan economies. That‘s what Ottawa-based HDR Decision Economics concludes in a just-released study for the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission and the City of Kelowna. “This is significant,” said economic development commissioner Robert Fine. “The costs are estimates of delays that business owners and staff encounter, as well as the extra time it takes to get goods and people in and out of the Valley.” Basically, if a worker or trucker isn‘t able to drive the posted speed limit because of congestion, then the extra time to make the trip is considered wasted, and costs the company and the economy money. The estimated cost of the wasted time per average commuter is $521 a year. “We want to use this data to communicate to senior levels of government that more planning, spending on infrastructure and alternatives are needed,” said Fine.

City of Kelowna regional transportation director Ron Westlake has some suggestions for what those improvements should be. “We‘re working with the province to address existing congestion points (most of Highway 97 from Westbank to Kelowna International Airport) and to provide public transit to reduce the inefficient use of the corridor by single-occupant vehicles,” he said. “The report also provides a summary of key strategies that have been successfully developed in other jurisdictions around the world.” Those range from charging motorists to enter congested areas to road tolls, more public transit, promotion of cycling, and separate lanes for cars carrying two or more people. More housing closer to community cores encourages people to live closer to work, and thus reduces traffic and pollution.

Fine also points to the need for a second bridge linking the Westside and Kelowna. However, that‘s not even on the provincial government‘s radar because the new five-lane William R. Bennett Bridge just opened in May to replace the bottleneck three-lane Okanagan Lake Floating Bridge. Congestion, which is considered not being able go drive the posted speed limit, is classified as wasteful, inefficient and economically harmful. For instance, the worst congestion is in central Kelowna, where average speeds are about 26 km/h, 36 per cent below the posted speed limit. If no improvements to road transportation are made by 2030, the average speed will slide to 23 km/h, or 45 per cent below optimal, says the study.