Image Credit: City of Kamloops

By Doug Collins

One Man's Opinion

COLLINS: Traffic problems at First and Victoria won’t be easily resolved

Mar 1, 2024 | 6:00 AM

THE CITY OF KAMLOOPS is making yet another attempt to resolve traffic problems at First Avenue and Victoria Street. I wish them luck.

These latest proposals to muck up the long-standing issues will not do the trick. The only thing that will work in the long run is a big expenditure to totally revamp that whole area, with major redesign.

First and Victoria has always been a problem area, certainly in the almost 55 years I’ve been in the city. When I came in 1970, traffic flow was an issue. I can remember a hot day in the summer of that year, traffic moved so slowly my car overheated. Over the years, including as late as 2014, the city planners have tried to come up with something that works, without real success.

So many issues clog the works. The location of the railway, which limits options, a conglomeration of routes coming together in one place, big buildings, including the B.C. Lottery Corporation building, the Klapstock Tower and City Hall which, without demolition, restrict options even further. The proximity of the Overlanders Bridge, meaning yet another nearby melding of traffic routes, and the list goes on.

We tried to ease the backlog coming down the Summit Connector, so we made it easier for those motorists to get onto the bridge, but we forced traffic on West Victoria Street to move from two lanes into one. The old “rob Peter to pay Paul” trick.

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As traffic has increased, the problem has escalated even further. As one of the faster-growing cities in Canada, trying to picture these miniscule changes as having a long-term positive effect on traffic flow doesn’t give me a sense of confidence.

And, finally, there is the concern by business owners that the 100-block of Victoria Street will become a “dead zone” because of the lack of access to the street. The 100-block has always been a sort of forgotten child. Pictures of the 100-block seem to be far fewer than those further up the street. There have been strong businesses in that block, but access has always been an issue. And becoming a “dead zone” is a real possibility, especially with the new changes.

To some, I suppose, it is a case of traffic flow trumping the vitality of the downtown core. Back when I arrived, Klapstock’s had their furniture store at the intersection of First and Victoria. Across the street was what is now the Brownstone Restaurant. Next to that was a liquor store. Up the street at Second and Vic was the Dalgleish Building, later torn down to make way for the Royal Bank. I seem to remember S & S Furniture being up the street from Klapstock’s. I remember buying some furniture from Serbi Gill when I got married. There were a variety of other stores and restaurants there. But traffic flow was, and obviously still is, a concern.

And it really doesn’t help when you continue to restrict traffic flow from several lanes to just one to move all that traffic over the bridge.

This will be a very difficult and expensive problem to resolve. It won’t be done with the desperate attempts of planners to change a few lines on a drawing. They are not stupid people and I am sure deep down they know it is a futile effort. And it’s unfair to the businesses in the 100-block to suffer through yet another attempt to fix a problem that is unfixable without a viable plan to redo that entire area.

I’m Doug Collins and that’s 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.