A pair of Canoe residents are once more calling on the city to look at traffic-calming measures.
At its July 24, 2023 meeting, council received a letter from Adrienne Munro and Chris Mead, who said they were seeing “potential growth in almost every part of the community without the infrastructure to support it.” The two asked the city help prepare Canoe for the “anticipated influx of new residents and drivers with a well-planned traffic-calming strategy to keep our streets safe.” As a first step, the two advised posted speed limit signs on 50th Street NE, 70th Avenue NE and Canoe Beach Drive.
“Supplementing this signage… with feedback signs that alert drivers to their actual speeds could help; as could even occasional enforcement, which drivers are unconcerned about because it happens so rarely in Canoe,” the two wrote.
The letter was forwarded to the city’s November 2023 Traffic Safety Committee (TSC) meeting. Following discussion of traffic safety concerns, the committee resolved to “continue to monitor situation as Canoe develops.”
In a follow-up letter received at the May 13 council meeting, Mead and Munro shared their disappointment with the TSC response, calling it “disturbing.” The two noted issues with “excessive speed” are not strictly a summer occurrence, that “unchecked speeding through the village centre is frequent, and it’s a legitimate safety issue.” The two raised other traffic-related concerns, and shared further suggestions to address them, including making the Canoe Beach Drive/50th Street NE intersection a four-way stop and limiting the speed along 50th, between 72nd Avenue NE to Canoe Beach Drive, to 30km/h.
“We have been observing the traffic situation in Canoe for years, and we witness foolish driving manoeuvres and ‘near misses’ nearly every day,” reads the letter. “If this letter is not sufficient to prompt an action on this matter, please tell us what would.”
Coun. Louise Wallace Richmond asked that the new letter be forwarded to the TSC, noting she shares the concerns raised, “especially in the summer months” when there’s a “noticeable increase.”
“That four-way stop would to some extent mitigate the raceway effect that tends to happen, and I think it’s worth consideration as the neighbourhood is not just growing in terms of residents but in terms of visitors and popularity I would say,” said Wallace Richmond.
Coun. Kevin Flynn said he didn’t support a speed limit change “because it’s all about enforcement.” He asked if speed bumps similar to what’s by city hall on Okanagan Avenue might be feasible.
Engineering and public works director Rob Niewenhuizen said the Okanagan bumps are a temporary measure, and that they “cause us grief in winter time for snow clearing…”
Regarding the suggested four-way stop, Niewenhuizen said a traffic study was done at that location and it was determined that “with the safety requirements for CP Rail we cannot put a four-way stop there.”
“A three-way stop would be very odd considering that the people coming from the tracks going southbound over the tracks would have the right of way, so that was the decision to have a two-way stop there. It was very complicated,” said Niewenhuizen, adding a four-way stop was introduced at the intersection of 50th and 70th Avenue NE, and that has “contributed to slowing people down along that section of road.”
“Before you could go from the school all the way to Canoe Beach Drive and not have a stop, so I think we have done some improvements to that location,” said Niewenhuizen, who was unsure what more could come out of the TSC.
Wallace Richmond noted traffic patterns have changed in Canoe subsequent to the traffic study and that the recent letter may contain new information for the TSC, and “we certainly have community members who are looking for a more comprehensive answer.”
Council voted to forward the letter to the TSC with Couns. Debbie Cannon and Tim Lavery opposed.
Read more: Dangerous drivers prompt request from Canoe residents to Salmon Arm council
Read more: ‘Ill-conceived idea’: New four-way stop in Canoe gets the red light from residents
