File photo (Image credit: CFJC Today).

By Doug Collins

ONE MAN'S OPINION

COLLINS: Just another day keeping tourists away

Jul 17, 2025 | 6:00 AM

I HAVE WRITTEN IN THE PAST about the impact all the road construction has on tourists trying to make their way through the new tourist attraction known as the Kamloops Maze.

Unfortunately, the mess doesn‘t just bother tourists, who only stay for a couple of days. It‘s far harder if you are a regular commuter trying to get to work either through the downtown or in the downtown itself.

A friend of mine, obviously angered, wrote to me on Tuesday. He uses the Lansdowne Parkade. I‘ve received a lot of mail on this, all saying the same thing. I know the city tries to plan these projects to keep traffic flowing, but this year they have failed miserably. My friend‘s anger speaks better than I could:

“Doug, I have another beef with the Landsdowne Parkade. I suppose it’s not technically a beef with the Parkade, it’s a beef with the city. I really wish the city would plan out the downtown construction they’re going to do in a more orderly fashion and stagger it more instead of doing it all at once. That way when it’s rush hour and we’re trying to get out of the Parkade and onto a one-way street, we have some hope of making it home. When Fourth is closed in spots, too, all of the bottlenecking that occurs there naturally is backed up even further with the closure of lanes due to the Overlanders Bridge construction. It’s really fun. I’m having a great time. I think I’m gonna see if I can carpool for the next four months until this craziness is completed. The fact that Seymour has reduced lanes and construction is great, too. It’s making commuting a super, super fun adventure. Good job, City of Kamloops planners!”

He went on to say,

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“I have been stuck waiting to get out of here for over half an hour. I wonder if I can charge the city for all the gas I’m wasting. Good thing I don‘t drive an electric vehicle!”

I suggested he look at taking the bus, but that wasn’t a good fix, either;

“You are correct. I absolutely could take the bus! However, the only bus that would take me where I need to go has to follow this exact route because it comes out of the bus exchange and heads west on Lansdowne towards the Overlanders Bridge! It really wouldn’t be any help. I thought I would be clever and go through the CIBC parking lot through the alley behind the parkade, only to find that Fourth is closed there, so I had to turn around and then wait all over again to pull back out onto Lansdowne. I can’t win!”

It took him an hour and a half to get home, when his usual commute is usually 20 minutes or less.

Admittedly, it’s hard to get too angry because this work has to be done, and there are only so many weeks the work can be completed. Maybe the Jetsons were on to something with those flying cars after all.

I’m Doug Collins and One Man’s Opinion.

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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.