ROTHENBURGER: No shortage of things to complain about with local highways

That stretch has been identified as a major problem for decades, ever since the Peterson Creek bypass was constructed. There are two basic solutions: expropriate properties along the frontage road so the intersections can be fixed or extend the bypass along the bluffs below Juniper and avoid the Valleyview commercial area altogether.

No provincial government, so far, has had the courage to do either one.

Speaking of intersections, the one at the Yellowhead Highway and East Shuswap Road is a bottleneck and a major accident waiting to happen. The answer is already on the books — a roundabout at the foot of the entrance to Sun Rivers to relieve traffic congestion at the choke point. But while the plans for it were drawn up years ago, so far there’s no sign of action.

And when will we start building bike lanes into highways in urban areas? The Trans Canada both east and west, the Yellowhead going north and the old Highway 5A heading south all require extreme caution, a good amount of courage and even a dash of foolhardiness on the part of cyclists.

Answers are easy to put on paper; putting them into practice involves billions of dollars. But everything has to start with a plan.

No doubt, we all have our favourite aggravations with the local highways system. What are yours?

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and a retired newspaper editor. He is a regular contributor to CFJC, 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 Pattison Media.

by Mel Rothenburger

ROTHENBURGER: No shortage of things to complain about with local highways

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