On Aug. 12, Coun. Bob Spiers told his colleagues that a bypass around Vernon is needed before Vernon is paralyzed by permanent gridlock.
Coun. Spiers, the blame for the traffic volume in Vernon can be directed squarely at city hall and past and present councils for allowing the helter-skelter developments that has happened over the years.
Some of these developments were conflicting with commercial neighbours who were forced to move away or close down.
These developments just added traffic to a 1950s designed road that was designed to accommodate a horse and buggy. Nobody knew any different back then.
And in turn, the traffic funnels on to the north/south thoroughfares causing gridlock.
Yes, there is more traffic through town. I believe Vernon has lost its commercial base and the savvy shopper is being forced to go else where.
There are many seniors that go for daily drives. These seniors well never give up their cars.
Hospital Hill is a 10 per cent grade. The fear that a large truck could go out of control on Hospital Hill and careen into downtown Vernon is a fear that has been talked about for years.
The fear of a truck loosing its brakes on Hospital Hill was talked about back in the 1960s when there was a school at the bottom of the hill. Why is it always trucks that are always feared of loosing there brakes? What about a motorhome?
I am surprised that a runaway pit — about 100 feet long and 10 feet wide that is filled with round rock that is about two inches in diametre — has never been built on Hospital Hill.
The proposed western bypass was meant to fail. Much of the proposed route was on former artillery training grounds and unexploded artillery shells are still being found 60 years later. Did anyone know at what cost these grounds would be deemed safe to construct a road on?
City hall has wasted precious taxpayers’ dollars focusing on long-term traffic issues through aggressive transportation demand management such as transit, walking and bicycling. One such conflict that has been created with this plan is the narrowing of streets and a lack of on-street parking.
The Polson Greenway is a good example of wasting tax dollars. This project was touted as a recreational corridor for the leisurely travel of pedestrians and bicyclists. Now it is being touted as a means to move automobiles traffic north and south.
What ever happened to the 27th Street connection to Highway 97 south? What ever happened to the long forgotten eastern bypass?
There will always be traffic gridlock because of the lack of vision and the way the City of Vernon has been allowed to grow.
George Serhan
Vernon
