Dear Editor:
This letter is written regarding Richard McGuire’s column in last week’s edition of the Osoyoos Times.
I’m sure everyone will agree with him that traffic downtown is a serious problem and also a very dangerous one, as a starter.
With the growth of the town, a bypass is apparently an impossibility.
However, over the years I have lived here – 52 years to be exact – there have been proposals for a bypass only to have been stopped by the downtown merchants who claimed it would hurt their businesses.
Seems like we’re going to have to put up with it unless our elected town council can come up with a solution.
As for the issue of ensuring pedestrians can be safe while using crosswalks, it used to be legal to cross at any intersection marked or unmarked.
Has that changed?
Some of the drivers seem to think so. Who is right?
Someone may be able to come up with a sensible solution to these problems, so why not have a competition sponsored by the town for eligible voters only as there will probably be costs involved for local taxpayers.
Perhaps a new Jeep would be incentive enough to get people interested and could be a very cheap way compared to hiring countless consultants.
The City of Penticton had a similar problem. The leaders of that city back in the 1950s established a plan for a bypass on the west side of the river that was stopped by downtown merchants.
There have been bypasses built along Eckhardt Avenue and the long bypass along the channel.
Thanks for your consideration.
Fred Fouty
Osoyoos, B.C.
