By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
The call for enhanced safety at pedestrian crosswalks crossing the busy Hwy. 3 along “motel row” in East Osoyoos has gotten an immediate response and commitment from BC’s transport ministry but the question now is when will the promised engineering review take place.
Following what was first thought to be a hit and run involving a pedestrian trying to cross the busy road but in reality turned out to be a man who had fallen onto the road from the tailgate of a pickup truck, Stacy Little the General Manager of the Richter Pass Beach Resort wrote to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) urging that crosswalk safety be improved.
As the roadway is a provincial highway any changes to the road must be carried out by the province. In her letter to both the Minister and Deputy Minister of MOTI along with the Osoyoos Mayor, Destination Osoyoos and others including the Times Chronicle, Little highlighted the lack of flashing lights, and other warning signs to drivers as well as the propensity of drivers to speed along that section.
She also highlighted the tragic death of a young University of BC student in July 2021 who died after being hit by a car as he crossed the road. This latest accident “just stirred up old, old emotions from when Gabriel (Dix) had passed away, you know.” Her partner Hughie Jennings was first on the “horrific” scene and it was deeply traumatizing she relates.
Little received a response from MOTI the very next morning from Bayle Chamberlain, District Operations Manager, Okanagan Similkameen for the Ministry of Transportation.
“Please know that the safety of all road users is the ministry’s highest priority, and I appreciate the opportunity to review your suggestions,” Chamberlain wrote.
“I have requested an engineering review of the Highway 3 corridor through this area be conducted by our internal traffic engineers. This review will include both crosswalk locations and functionality of the existing crosswalks within the corridor.
“I cannot confirm when this review will be completed at this time but am happy to share the results with you when they are available.”
Speaking to Little on Tuesday she said she was “super excited” at getting the response and commitment so quickly, as well as how fast people in Osoyoos got onboard including support from the Mayor and Destination Osoyoos’ Executive Director Kelly Glazer. Her concern however is over the timing of the review.
“I’m just hoping that they’ll come out during the summer season to see how busy it is and that they won’t do the assessment in the fall or the winter when it’s quieter because that wouldn’t be beneficial,” she said. “If they came anytime during the summer they can see how busy it is here in front of motel row.”
In her letter to MOTI Little called for the yellow curb striping to be repainted and a flashing yellow light installed. Currently, the yellow paint on the curb is barely visible, chipped and faded as it is and the only flashing yellow lights are at the crosswalk across Main St. (also Hwy. 3) at 89th St.
“The Crowsnest Highway runs past our property as well as several other motels such as the Coast Hotel, Desert Surfside, Holiday Inn etc., and it has become a very dangerous place for pedestrians to cross,” she wrote noting that while the speed limit along that stretch is 50 km/hr most people drive much faster at 70 km/hr or more.
Chamberlain encouraged people to contact the local RCMP detachment if they observe vehicles not abiding by the posted speed limits. “Sharing your observations with the local RCMP helps them target their enforcement activities accordingly in the area,” Chamberlain said.
Little also highlights that it’s not just about the safety of tourists here on vacation but residents including the elderly and school children. “We just want to make sure that everybody’s safe.”
Other key points she raises are the fact that one of the crosswalks in that area doesn’t line up with the stairs that lead up to road level from Pioneer Walkway, there is no crosswalk at the public washroom and the crosswalks are not wheelchair accessible.
Jennings also underscored the importance of having flashing lights at the crosswalk saying that often cars will stop at the crosswalk to allow pedestrians to cross and cars coming along think someone is turning left and will automatically go around to the right, only to realize (or not) at the last minute its a crosswalk.
“With the flashing light from both directions people would see it’s a crosswalk,” he said.
For now, it’s a waiting game around the MOTI engineering review with the hope it will be done during the busy tourist season. And to help make that happen sooner than later, Jennings and Little have even offered a free room to the MOTI staff.
