Traffic changes panned

Ron Seymour  The Daily Courier 2011-07-29 
Upgrades at a downtown Kelowna intersection have only served to make it more dangerous than ever, nearby residents say.  The city has installed a concrete median, put up a pedestrian-activated traffic light, and imposed various turn restrictions at the corner of Richter Street and Cawston Avenue. However, many drivers either don‘t understand how the new traffic movements are supposed to work or are deliberately choosing to ignore the restrictions, say Wayne and Texsey Turberfield, who‘ve lived in a house at the corner for four years.  "It‘s a real schmozzle," Wayne said Thursday. "This corner is definitely a lot more dangerous now than it used to be." "It‘s a total joke," Texsey added. "There‘s going to be a bad accident here soon, no question." City officials say they‘re aware that many improper traffic movements are being made by drivers at the rebuilt corner. "We‘re monitoring it," said city engineer Purvez Irani. "We‘ll try to solve this situation, either through design changes or enforcement." The intersection was redesigned as part of the construction of the new multi-use pathway along Cawston Avenue. Previously, there were only stop signs on Cawston, with drivers able to turn left or right onto Richter, and vice versa.  Now, eastbound drivers on Cawston are only supposed to turn right onto Richter, with no through traffic or left turns permitted. However, in the course of 20 minutes‘ observation Thursday afternoon, more than one-third of eastbound Cawston drivers violated the restrictions, weaving their way through gaps in the concrete median. One driver even headed down the wrong side of Richter for a stretch. Drivers on Richter Street are now not supposed to turn left onto Cawston but, again, violations are fairly common. Design changes were made at the corner largely to accommodate the interests of cyclists and pedestrians using the multi-use pathway. "That‘s all fine and good and the path is a nice addition to the street," Wayne Turberfield said, "but it seems like they forgot about making it safer for drivers."