To the editor:
Are we mad! Yes. Are we pissed off? Yes. But we’re scared too.
Losing that young lady was horrible in and of itself but her father, as the fire chief (and therefore the chief of the first responders in a rural setting), was the first person to the vehicle—even after losing our son I can’t imagine how devastating that would be.
I’m mad, we’re all mad. We asked highways three years ago, when the speed was still 90 km/h, to please reduce it to 80 km/h—but received only a lot of political double-speak.
And then when they re-surfaced Hwy. 33 this last fall and increased the speed we asked them to please, at least, put it back to 90 km/h—more political double-speak.
We are quite aware that technology has improved and motor vehicles can travel faster and manoeuvre much better than older vehicles—but we contend that the road itself is not designed for the higher speeds. Virtually all (other) 100 km/h roads in the province are four lane or four lane divided, while Hwy 33 is a narrow, winding, two-lane road with little or no shoulder and no left-hand turn lanes
Joe Rich used to be a community of people who lived, worked and played here but the community has evolved into a bedroom community to Kelowna—most working residents commute daily and most of those are scared driving the road. They are scared not because of the road but because of “the others” who drive the road as well.
The speed limit really isn’t the problem, it’s what “the others” do with their speed that is terrifying. According to Ministry of Highways, and by the documents provided by them, they did their study in April—not tourist season, not ski season. They came out for two days, mid-week (they don’t work weekends) for an hour each day—that was their ‘study.’
The major problem time for traffic in Joe Rich is ski season on the weekends at about 4 p.m. (Ski day is over and the tired idiots are either in a hurry to get home or get to a bar to get drunker.)
We are told, by the Highways that the increase in speed has nothing to do with accommodating Big White clientele in their frenzied rush to get to and from the hill; however, the speed increases to 100 km/h at the bottom of Walker Hill (in Black Mountain) and goes back to 90 km/h at the Big White turn-off. I’m guessing that is for the safety and consideration of the Joe Rich residents and not the convenience of the Big White clientele. Combine that with logging trucks and commercial semi’s, who get paid by the load and/or by the time, moving as quickly as they can in order to make as much money as they can.
Can you imagine how disturbing it is to cautiously pull out from one of the numerous hidden drive-ways or artery roads (like Three Forks, Falcon, Falcon Ridge, Hawk, Philpott, etc.) and have a fully loaded logging truck bearing down on you at 110 or 120 km/h (virtually none of “the others” drive the posted speed, not even the commercial vehicles)? Or how about sitting waiting to turn left, off Hwy 33 onto an artery road to get home, for a massive line of ski hill cars returning from the hill with a vehicle (car or semi or logging truck) barreling up behind you at 110 or 120 km/h with nowhere to go because there is no shoulder? Scary! Yah, you bet. We’re scared.
But we’re mad as hell and pissed off too.
John B. Collinson.
Kelowna (Joe Rich)
