Stefanie Kellock watched in horror as a vehicle just drove around the car that had stopped to let her cross the street. This happened to her, twice, while using the crosswalk outside her home on Fourth Street East.
“I’ve just hit my breaking point,” she said.
“People act like this is a freeway.”
Kellock started an online petition, asking the city to make the street in Southside safer.
The road is the only access to Revelstoke Mountain Resort, Mackenzie Village and the growing number of approved development in Arrow Heights, such as the 59 unit Stoked Living development on Hay Rd.
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While Kellock said she is not anti-development, her street desperately needs more measures in place to accommodate increased traffic, cyclist and pedestrian volume.
Kellock bought a home on Fourth Street East in 2016, the road since has become much busier, she said. The dynamics of the neighbourhood have also changed.
In 2015, there were three children in her neighbourhood, now there are 18 with another two on the way.
“This is a densely populated and frequented area of town,” she said.
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The city told the Review there is a master transportation plan in the works that is intended to serve as a long-term strategy for the next 20 years as the community grows. Council awarded the $123,000 contract for the project at their March 9, 2021 meeting. At the time Steve Black, director of engineering for the city, said the plan would be completed by September.
It will consider pedestrian routes, crossings, bike lanes and efforts to calm traffic throughout the community.
In Kellock’s petition, she said, Fourth Street East needs improved signage and/or lights for pedestrian crossing at Edward Street near Southside Market, a marked crosswalk at Moss Street to allow access to Kovach Park, a marked crosswalk at Simpson Street North for pedestrian access to the Greenbelt and clear signage indicating Fourth Street is single lane traffic only.
“Attention to this is urgently needed, not just for local residents but for the increasing number of visitors to our town,” Kellock said.
She would also like the city to consider reducing the speed limit near Southside Market, which is currently set to 50 km/h.
As of March 25, 115 people have signed the online petition at change.org.
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:jocelyn.doll@revelstokereview.com
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