Image: Barnhartvale Road, Margaret Langevin

By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: Where should the City put its money when it comes to how we get around?

Jun 20, 2020 | 6:49 AM

LET’S TALK, as the City of Kamloops likes to say. Specifically, let’s talk about transportation priorities, and then you can tell me if you think City council is being consistent and strategic in its approach to how our streets are used.

Vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists compete for space on the city’s streets and, so far, the automobile continues to win. Millions of taxpayer dollars are spent every year trying to find the right balance, and the effort isn’t always successful.

At this week’s regular meeting, City councillors debated whether to forge ahead with upgrades to the McArthur Island ring road. Officially called the Island Parkway, it’s the skinny little piece of pavement that makes its way around the perimeter of the playing fields and provides a way to drive, walk or cycle the island.

The fact that it embraces all three modes of movement, and is also integral to the whole McArthur Island sports and recreation complex, is why I support doing something about the potholes and frost heaves that ravage it like zits on a teenager’s face. We’ve got to maintain the facilities that have been built lest they gradually fall into disrepair and disuse.

Not all of council felt this was the time to spend money on it, but it’s way too easy to put off dealing with such things and it only gets worse later. So, council decided to spend $600,000.

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Money in hand, City Hall wasted no time, announcing Friday work will start next week on repaving the section on the south side along the river, creating a pathway for cyclists and pedestrians separated from the roadway.

This, however, may be salt in the wound for those who have been trying to talk the City into making cyclists and pedestrians safer on Barnhartvale Road, which winds its way up from Dallas and then east. An online petition has gathered about 3,800 signatures asking for a bicycle-and-pedestrian lane when the road is repaved, which is scheduled to be done right around now.

Margaret Langevin, the resident leading this petition, is unimpressed with what she sees as a lack of interest by mayor and council. It always amazes me that the City continues to sing the praises of its plans to expand the cycling network but when roadways are rebuilt, cyclists and pedestrians are often left out of the picture.

Barnhartvale Road would be a natural because it’s increasingly popular with cyclists and has wide shoulders in parts of it but it’s not in the City’s plans.

Meanwhile, in downtown Kamloops, there’s been very little uptake on the council’s offer to businesses to expand sidewalk patios to the curb. Only The Vic coffee shop sports a nice new patio space, taking up only part of a parking slot. Word is, though, that several other merchants are getting ready to take the plunge.

If you haven’t had a chance yet to check out the setup at The Vic, do so. It provides a hint of what Victoria Street could become without closing off the entire street or creating a “plaza” on Fourth Avenue, both of which are goofy ideas. A series of patio bump-outs could be created on a permanent basis along Victoria, making it much more friendly for pedestrians and shoppers. That could also be done on Seymour Street if it’s changed back to two-way.

Then, of course, there’s the matter of the multi-million-dollar Summit Connector plan, which I wrote about earlier in the week. This project is a gift to all the students who live in the apartment blocks of Upper College Heights and don’t want to walk one single step more than they have to on their way to TRU.

I have yet to receive an explanation of why the City won’t just install a very nice wrought-iron fence down the centre of the median and force the kids to walk a few steps up to the crosswalk at McGill.

Instead, the City promotes an overpass as a multi-use connection. “Active transportation,” they call it. I’m sure a $6-million overpass will look very nice but let’s be clear — it will connect to no cycling or walking network. Rather, it will simply lead from Upper College Heights and across to the campus. On either side, it’s basically a dead end.

The really sad part is, the students probably won’t use it anyway. Walking up stairs to the overpass and then back down the other side won’t be attractive to them when they can just dodge through traffic the way they’re doing now.

David Suzuki wrote a really good column this week about what other cities are doing to promote a balanced approach to the use of urban streets. He points out that places like Montreal, Vancouver, Seattle and even Bogota, Columbia are rebalancing their street systems to give pedestrians and cyclists an equal stake in them. Bigger cities, for sure, but they’re leading the way.

So what do you think? Where should the City’s priorities be when it comes to building new streets? More hiking trails, sidewalks, bike lanes — or are things about right?

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.