Image Credit: Twitter / @bigitpaolo

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Safety needs to be at the forefront as McGill Road gets busier

Dec 1, 2023 | 12:30 PM

BEFORE WE SAY TOO MUCH about the crash on McGill Road Wednesday, it’s important to note few of the details have been confirmed.

We know a Dodge Ram pickup truck seemingly careened out of control, hitting trees on the boulevard before slamming into a number of vehicles stopped at a red light.

We know one of the stopped vehicles contained members of the TRU Wolfpack men’s volleyball team.

And sadly, we know one of them was killed and two more were seriously injured.

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What caused the driver and/or the truck to act the way they did is only hearsay and speculation at this point.

Having said that, safety on McGill Road where it skirts the TRU campus has long been a concern.

As the student population grows and as more and more housing is built in that area, the number of pedestrians is increasing exponentially.

McGill Road, though, is a high vehicular traffic corridor.

Commuters don’t just use it to access the campus and nearby businesses and housing — they use it as a thoroughfare to travel between Lower Sahali, Dufferin and Aberdeen.

It’s mostly a straight, wide stretch, which tempts drivers into putting their feet into their accelerators and driving faster than they should.

The city is planning to build a pedestrian bridge across the Summit Connector near the campus, but few measures have been contemplated to calm the traffic along McGill.

This isn’t the first tragedy along the road in recent years.

54-year-old TRU employee Lucy Phua was struck and killed three years ago as she walked along McGill.

No matter what the cause of the crash, this is a tragedy that reverberates through many different walks of life in Kamloops.

When young people in the prime of life are taken away, the trauma is that much more intense for their families and those who loved them.

This week’s nightmare should have us contemplating the safety of not only pedestrians, but all people who use McGill Road to get from A to B.

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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.