Mentioning climate change and traffic issues in the same breath got Capital News readers to engage with Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran.
In a report that came out of a regular Monday council meeting, city staff made a link between climate change and this year’s flooding and fires.
Basran said taking action like building more roads to accommodate more traffic will only exacerbate the issue of climate change. He added if a spring and summer like the one Kelowna just experienced is not enough to prompt the public to rally behind change, he does not know what is.
“There is a huge disconnect,” said the mayor.
RELATED: SURVEY SAYS…
Flooding on private and public property and the fact many in the community could not go outside due to severely smoky skies for lengthy periods during the summer and the impact on city water (a water quality advisory was issued for a brief time) are, he said, proof climate change is real and having an effect here.
“But higher traffic flows are called for in the citizen’s survey,” said Basran, expressing frustration.
Following the council meeting, Basran said if residents are not prepared to make changes after the summer the city experienced this year, “when will they ever?”
Here’s what you have to say:
Marcus Henry Weber: Why don’t we stop treating public transit as an afterthought? Cities with half our population have MUCH better transit systems. The buses in Kelowna are a joke, and always have been. No-one who designs the system will ever plan to use it. It’s considered a low-class way to travel while, in places like Europe, buses and trains are used by all, rich and poor, because they are well-planned and well-funded.
Shawna Reynolds Horning: Maybe try making public transit more reliable before you attack citizens for using their cars. My 14 year old son got stranded in downtown Kelowna at 10 p.m. one night last summer because his bus never arrived. It was supposed to be there at 9:30 p.m.. No bus arrived. At 10 p.m., after 40 minutes waiting at the sketchy downtown bus stop, he called me to come get him and his friends. I can assure you he WON’T be taking the bus downtown again.
Craig Bjornson: What does public transit have to do with climate change??
Wayne Bonsan: All these jerk-off small towns in the Okanagan are doing their damnedest to choke car traffic to a stand still. They just don’t get it. Tourists come and go but we live here we work here we support the local economy. We need cars to get around. It’s bloody idiotic for leaders to think we are all going to live and shop and die within a 10 block area. Support farmers market, you need wheels to get from Knox Mountain to the market, live in Rutland, you need wheels to get to the Federal building. Electric cars mean there is no way cars are going the way of the dodo bird, perhaps things would be better if the local leaders and politicians went the way of the dodo bird. All you have to do is look at BC and our economy before highways and byways were built, now you think we are going to willingly go back to that choked off, isolated bullshit!
Lynn Winfield: If you really want to address climate change why don’t you address “chemtrail” spraying almost daily. Yes I said chemtrail, Not contrail. Why is it that nobody will even acknowledge this word. The USA even admits that they use this as a weather modification technique yet most people prefer to think of it as a conspiracy Theory. Nobody wants to talk about it, ever. Do you not look up from your phones to see the sky? At least acknowledge it so we can have a conversation about it.
Craig Bjornson: Outrageous rents are creating homeless
Sindy Vaughn: People really are not happy living here.
Only people happy are people visiting.
I’m sorry I’m getting super depressed.
‘Tis the season to sleep through this nightmare.
Christmas is canceled this year.
Sorry folks.
Aaron Fanslau Nice attempt to deflect the issue Basran. What a joke.
Beth Shey: Traffic in Kelowna has become a nightmare just a big ugly urban sprawl…Beautiful location that the Parker for the land is amazing and it’s just turned into a sprawling sister city to Surrey…Very sad, it was a very pretty city when I moved here 30 years ago…And yes I know all about the word progress and how it works however nothing works for long without balance!
Matt Engel: I’m not a mayor but if cars moved better they’d get better mileage which would mean less greenhouse gases. Transit doesn’t work for people in Kettle Valley, Crawford, Wilden, or Black Mountain so how’s that an option considering a huge portion of the population lives in those areas.
Then there’s projects like Rutland Road realignment that are good enough to open but compound the problem they were meant to fix because the project isn’t complete.
The city squawking about climate change is also pretty funny as they can’t even abide by their own rules. Basran has a private parking spot that we pay for. Does he use it every day? Does transit not work for you either? Then you have the watering…. Watering restrictions come up but there’s the city… Watering sports fields mid-day. Great example guys. You want me to water late at night, on three days a week, but you’re doing it seven days a week at the hottest times during the day. You said running sprinklers doesn’t affect the lake level yet you impose restrictions – to conserve water in the lake. So which one is it?
Nic Alexanders Well I for one am not going to be on the mayor’s favourite list. Why is everything need to be about climate change. The climate has been changing for thousands of years. Back in the 60s we were worried we were going into an ice age as the temperatures cooled.
Now for traffic. We need better roads and less stopping and starting. Sitting idling is harder on the environment. Yes we need more roads better flow on them and cars are so much cleaner these days they have less effect. As Kelowna grows you need the roads. We don’t let super high density living happen so urban growth outward means more cars. Not every one can live close to work.
Climate change can not be controlled the way every one thinks, it will happen anyway. Waste of our money chasing something we can’t stop. Maybe slow it a bit.
I find the words Climate Change actually offensive as they are so used in the wrong way.
Dayleen Van R: Another out of touch politician
Barry Bowman: In truth we need less cars on the roads. Which means we have to use more public transportation…..will it happen….I have my doubts….people don’t even want to carpool…judging by the number of cars with just a driver and no passengers….we don’t get it.
Richard McAdam: The matter of personal/public transportation and its impact on climate change has long been problematic for many citizens, regardless of how much they want to make a positive impact on a very real problem. We can buy more fuel-efficient cars, make plan.
Eduard Van Ryswyk: Let’s see. Heavier snow pack and rain due to global warming was the reason for flooding, human caused fires was the cause for all the fires. Global warming is a myth. Sorry Colin no star for your whining today
Landon Bradshaw: I guess I’ll be the minority in agreeing with the sentiment that residents just don’t get it … just like Basran described moving to a location that allows both him and his wife to be close to where they spend most of their time, my family did the same when we moved to Kelowna back in 2009 … our single car stays home more often than not … I hate traffic and will make plans to avoid it as much as possible … takes more work and thought but it keeps me happier …
Darrell D D Francis: The Mayor’s frustrated yet he and his posse keep handing out massive amounts of building permits. Growth is not always the answer.. If you don’t build it, they wont come
Sindy Vaughn: I would come and get involved with your Christmas tree and Hanukkah light up but there is never any parking. So again I stay home. Living on the west side busing is a nightmare. Bus never showed up when the sign says it’s coming. So I rather drive but like I mentioned. No parking spots available.
