City working out kinks after first week of Victoria Street West construction

While the City of Kamloops is monitoring congestion and parking hiccups closely, Capital Projects Manager, Darren Crundwell, says the city is still working out some kinks during the first phase of the Victoria Street West Improvement Project.

Phase One is expected to take until mid-July to wrap up, at which point Phase Two will get into full swing.

“I think it’s that balance, you know, we saw this during the (Overlander) bridge project. It took about two weeks for people to figure out the best route,” Crundwell says. “I think we’re seeing that, but I do think the backlog up Lansdowne Street is pretty significant.”

Last week, the city relocated more than 200 BCLC employee parking spots to the west lot in Riverside Park in order to reduce traffic congestion.

Since then, restrictions have eased and more spots opened up to the public, after it became apparent BCLC was not utilizing the lot to the full extent.

Crundwell says they still have committed to let BCLC employees park there, but the public can now park in that lot without fear of a ticket.

“What we’ve done is we’ve taken away the enforcement,” he explains. “They’re (the public) not going to see bylaws. Basically it’s a first come, first serve.”

Further down the road, vehicle line ups during peak times have given the city a new challenge to untangle, as some drivers choose not to let those leaving parkades on to the road.

“The Lansdowne Parkade and whatnot, we’ve got to look at how we can alleviate some of the concerns down there as well, because they’re having difficulty getting out on to Lansdowne.”

As road crews make their way down Victoria Street West, businesses right in the construction zone still have access, but admit their customer flow has taken a hit.

The impact has not be devastating for nearby Spoke Bike & Ski, but owner Carolyn Berry says the first few days had some people confused about where to go.

“The whole road isn’t dug up, we’re still here and there’s still traffic flow and you can still get in,” she says. “People were thinking that everything was shut down here right at the start.”

Next door at Mervin Marine, owner Nathan Mervin says the construction has made him rethink the location of his business at some points.

“All my suppliers get in here no problem. Getting boats in is a little bit difficult, but we do have access over at Spoke n Motion, and over through here (the front entrance),” he explains. “It’s going to get more difficult as it progresses through the stages.”

Those concerns have not fallen on deaf ears, and Crundwell says the city will keep consulting businesses over the next year and a half until the road remodel is complete.

“Both the contractor and the city basically have full time communications people. So we are trying to see them every day and ask how its going.”

by Dylana Milobar

City working out kinks after first week of Victoria Street West construction

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