Dan Walton
Oliver Chronicle
There’s not much appetite to upgrade the highway just north of Town.
At the intersection of Leighton Crescent and Highway 97, there are no designated lanes for vehicles turning into or out of the subdivision. The speed limit is 70.
Sheila Matheson, who lives in the Tumbleweed Park neighbourhood, believes there is a high risk of an accident happening. Often when she is waiting for traffic to make a left onto Leighton, other vehicles use the shoulder to pass her on the right. She worries that cyclists and pedestrians could be struck by an impatient driver. “One of these days there’s going to be a major accident,” she said.
But there wasn’t much concern from the powers that be.
Director of Operations Shawn Goodsell said the intersection is outside of Town limits, and that it lay in the Ministry of Transportation’s jurisdiction.
In an email to the Chronicle, the Ministry of Transportation said many factors are considered when assessing potential highway safety upgrades, “including collision history, road geometry and design, signage, site visibility and traffic speeds and volumes.”
When reached for comment, MLA Linda Larson’s office was unaware of any collision history occurring at that location.
People can complain to the government about highway safety by calling 250-712-3660.
