Poor Road Repairs Around the Area

[monroe]

We've got it good. The Prairie people here will tell you that.

I travel to saskatoon and reddeer every now and then. You want to see shoddy roads?

[2medics]

Speaking of rough roads, I would like to tie Christy Clark onto my stretcher and drive over the William Bennett Bridge and show her how rough that bridge is. It is absolutely horrible. Every one of my patience complain every time we drive over the bridge from the west side into Kelowna. The crew that maintained that bridge has such a short area to worry about and they can't even get that right. How hard can it be to resurface the bridge so it's smoother. I realize the speed limit is only 60 km/h but even at that speed it's constant bumps throughout the entire Bridge.

[damama55]

I pity paramedics that have to ride in the ambulances. What a rough ride!!!! Never had to use an ambulance until over the past couple of years, and I told the guys, "You need a new ambulance." Such a rough ride. Then, with the roads sooooo rough, that made it even worse. Take care out there, Para guys and gals. Hopefully, once Spring is here, we will see improvements for the roads.

[LTD]

Speaking of rough roads, I would like to tie Christy Clark onto my stretcher and drive over the William Bennett Bridge and show her how rough that bridge is. It is absolutely horrible. Every one of my patience complain every time we drive over the bridge from the west side into Kelowna. The crew that maintained that bridge has such a short area to worry about and they can't even get that right. How hard can it be to resurface the bridge so it's smoother. I realize the speed limit is only 60 km/h but even at that speed it's constant bumps throughout the entire Bridge.

if I'm riding in an ambulance I doubt I'm concerned about the ride or how rough the bridge is

[Gilchy]

Anyone who thinks our roads are bad has never driven anywhere else, good lord! Potholes are a little worse than normal this year because of our Game of Thrones never ending winter.

And the bridge is bumpy because there are seams between the deck panels, just like every other bridge in the world.

[2medics]

if I'm riding in an ambulance I doubt I'm concerned about the ride or how rough the bridge is

You have obviously never been inside an ambulance let alone know what paramedics do in an ambulance. You make it sound like everyone that calls an ambulance or extremely sick or ill. People get hurt from falls, motor vehicle accidents, children feeling unwell, elderly people are sick due to multiple illnesses. They expect a comfortable and caring ride. Driving down the highway all the patients feel that they're getting a good comfortable ride. But as soon as we hit the bridge it's a constant jumping up and down and not just from the dividing sections on the bridge, were talking every five feet.

[damama55]

I totally agree. I had to take the ambulance 3 times now, since I moved here. I had such pains, and every bump would hurt and make the pain worse. I wasn't deathly ill, just in a LOT of pain. The paramedics were awesome, but the ride was so bumpy and painful, between LC and Kel.

[monroe]

A squeech bit OT but ... we used to export trucks into the US and a buddy of mine in WA state told me years ago, they used an F450 cutaway/cab&chassis for the ambulances. The company hired to do the build always said the suspension was too hard for its intended use.

Maybe same up here?

[2medics]

A squeech bit OT but ... we used to export trucks into the US and a buddy of mine in WA state told me years ago, they used an F450 cutaway/cab&chassis for the ambulances. The company hired to do the build always said the suspension was too hard for its intended use.

Maybe same up here?

We currently use Chevy chassis (Gas), we did have Ford (Diesel). Both not the best suspension.

[dogspoiler]

I have talked to the folks at Fleet several times over the years about rough suspension.
The bottom line is, they can be built to ride smoother but this comes at the cost of stability.
The Ambulances can be made to ride smoother but would be far more likely to roll over during hard cornering.
There would be a noticeable bump if the Ambulance was to flip over on a corner.

[dirtybiker]

There is this:
http://liquidspring.com/

I became aware of this system through;
http://crestlinecoach.com/

As I had a Family member who was once a long time employee.

[damama55]

Wow!! What a difference those suspension systems would make for the seniors buses and the ambulances, too. Don't know the costs, but, I imagine it may be a hindrance to having them installed, especially on the ambulances. The government is not too likely to have them installed on EMS vehicles, seeing the problem they have with getting too much help from the government. I wonder if they have anything like that in Canada. The low Canadian dollar would be a hindrance, too, especially coming from the US. Would make a lot better ride for patients, especially with all the potholes in the roads this time of year.

[Piecemaker]

It must be warm enough to repair potholes. I've noticed several on my daily flight path have been fixed. Yesterday afternoon I reported two pot holes that were worsening daily, both located in my neighbourhood. City of Kelowna crews were out there about 8 this morning to fix both of them. I wasn't really expecting they'd be able to get to them until late next week. Great response to my service request!

[southy]

Yea well ya think that is bad come on down to Penticton - we now have three big pot holes ..... ever since the rcmp shut em down

[60-YEARS-in-Ktown]

I was in Chetwynd and Dawson Creek and Grande Prairie this weekend, and believe me...we have nothing to complain about..
We actually have it pretty good here..