Road solution bashed

by Jon Manchester CASTANET Apr 30, 2015 / 8:16 pm
Vernon city councillor Scott Anderson says he's strongly opposed to the Ministry of Transportation’s proposed solution to the dangerous Stickle Road-Highway 97 intersection. Several serious accidents have happened at the notorious corner over the years, including fatalities. Anderson also has a problem with the process used to alert the public to a proposal to allow right turns only turn onto the highway. He questions the ministry’s tactic of holding a public meeting without revealing the details beforehand. "At the ministry's request, the hearings were held in camera so that the public wasn't able to have any input to the proposed plan," said Anderson. "Springing the plan on the citizens of Vernon at the first and last opportunity they will have to comment on it effectively excluded them from all meaningful consultation." He's calling for a more transparent process that includes public input before a decision is made, rather than afterwards. “It wouldn't hurt if the ministry actually took some of that input seriously, too,” said Anderson. “Although the ministry did ask local government bodies for their opinions, it then completely ignored them and did the opposite. What’s the point of asking for local input if it’s not listened to? "There’s a good chance the folks who actually live here know better than Victoria what works better.” Anderson says forcing everyone to turn right onto Highway 97 is "inane." "Vehicles coming from the campground heading north will have to drive into Vernon, do a U-turn and come back out, while cars travelling back to Vernon from the Auto Mile will be forced onto Pleasant Valley Road and subsequently onto 43rd Avenue, itself already very busy." According to the ministry's own calculations, he says this will effectively double the traffic on PV Road and download the cost of more road maintenance on the shoulders of Vernon taxpayers. "What I find especially galling is the specious reasons the ministry has put forth for not installing traffic lights at Stickle Road. The ministry claims a traffic light will increase rear-end collisions. By that logic, we should shut down all stop lights, including the one at the bottom of Hospital Hill because, although it will lead to more dangerous T-bone collisions, at least there will be fewer rear-end collisions. "Similarly, the ministry claims a light will increase greenhouse gas emissions. This is also true of every stop light in Canada. Should we abolish all stop lights because they increase GHG?" Anderson says, the ministry has referred to a mathematical calculation it used in its decision, "but not one of the ministry representatives seems to know what it is... I have asked for the calculation repeatedly, and have been promised it, but I have yet to see it." "I find the arrogance of the Ministry of Transportation astonishing," he said. Local governments unanimously rejected the right-only solution and proposed a traffic light, "yet the ministry not only came back with the rejected solution, but hid it from the public until the very last moment."