Residents of Blind Bay are seeking signatures for a petition to reduce the speed limit on a busy road.
Golf Course Drive is nearly four kilometers long and runs alongside the Shuswap Lake Estates Golf Course. Currently the road has a posted speed limit of 50 km/h but residents want it reduced to 40 km/h.
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Syd Loeppky, a land surveyor from Alberta and resident of Blind Bay for the past five years, is spearheading the petition.
“When I go out in my front yard to clean up, we look right at the asphalt and I almost get run over doing that so I’ve put cones up now,” Loeppky said.
When Loeppky spoke to a representative from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, he was told speed limits of 30 km/h are reserved for school zones and playgrounds, so Loeppky settled for 40 km/h.
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Although the summertime may bring more traffic to the area, Leoppky says the the road becomes even narrower in the winter months when snow is piled along the sides.
Cheryl Chew, Loeppky’s neighbor, has two children who walk down Golf Course Drive to get to school and, out of concern for their safety, she is also going door to door asking for signatures.
“I thought it was a great idea,” said Chew. “It is more of a retiree community that we live in but a lot of younger families are coming in with school-aged kids.”
Chew explains when walking the road there have been concerning moments involving drivers.
“I find myself walking down the street and I’m forced almost into the ditches because people will either drive by too fast or just drive in the middle of the road,” she said.
The petitions, which has already gained 100 signatures from residents living on or near Golf Course Drive, are available at the Shuswap Lake Estates Office, the Blind Bay Country Market as well as the Blind Bay Village Grocer.
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