Vernon needs a bypass soon

[John500]

Cant believe all that traffic going right though the middle of town. 2 lanes either way with some left hand turns. Maybe Mayor and council can start by looking into this. Its just crazy. Carbon footprint....ha ha

[dg3]

the traffic control idiots cant even time the lights properly, i would not trust them planning a bypass.

[GordonH]

Not sure if a bypass is possible, but 32 St could use left turning lanes.

or this

[Doug Ferguson]

I think the city council voted to not build a bypass after much debate and planning. I think they even voted to stop purchasing property for the bypass route. Many years ago when the train overpass was built beside polson park on hwy 6, I think they had planned to extend it to provide a one way to the hwy beside the tree farm. This would allow 32 to become a one way south and 27 could be a one way north. This doesn't mean that they would be high speed roads, the trafic lights could be timmed so trucks and cars could travel through at 50km and not have to stop at each intersection. It would also provide 2 turning lanes and 2 lanes for flow through traffic.

[dg3]

Many years ago when the train overpass was built beside polson park on hwy 6, I think they had planned to extend it to provide a one way to the hwy beside the tree farm. This would allow 32 to become a one way south and 27 could be a one way north. This doesn't mean that they would be high speed roads, the trafic lights could be timmed so trucks and cars could travel through at 50km and not have to stop at each intersection. It would also provide 2 turning lanes and 2 lanes for flow through traffic.

this is what should have been done 10 years ago.
i asked planner why not, they said all the businesses where against it, as traffic would move so easily through town, nobody would stop at their shops.

[Verminator]

The cost of a by-pass, either east or west of 97 would be totally prohibitive. The time when it could have been planned and built with the least disruption and cost is long gone, thanks to the typical lack of foresight and common sense of local politicians. Every year the traffic in this town just gets worse. The solutions available at this stage of the game will inevitably be temporary band-aides at best and would probably be more expensive than the original cost of the Western Bypass proposal. It's very sad and disheartening to think what the future holds for Vernon.

[grammafreddy]

i asked planner why not, they said all the businesses where against it, as traffic would move so easily through town, nobody would stop at their shops.

This is probably the real reason there is no bypass. Same in Kelowna. Many, many years ago there was a plan for a bypass around Kelowna but it, too, was killed because the merchants were against it.

It seems to me that if motorists - tourists or locals or truckers - have intentions of stopping in a place, they will do so - even when using a bypass that has connecting roads to get them into the city.

The ones who have no intention of stopping for anything will not be enticed by the signage along the highways on sign boards and store fronts - they are all just through-traffic trying to get out of the town and on to their destination.

[xjeepguy]

the traffic control idiots cant even time the lights properly, i would not trust them planning a bypass.

Wow you are so correct . Proper timing would help a bit. I always used 27th , 32 is a bloody nightmare.

[Glacier]

Yes it does need an overpass! The way BC insists on building roads through the middle of every city is a joke. Instead of pandering to special interest groups (local businesses) they should be looking at the greater good of the entire province.

They have been working on 4-laning highway 97 from Cache Creek to Prince George (some 450 km). The funny thing is that the number of traffic lights keeps going up because 4 laning through another town means that they need to add more lights since it is no longer safe to cross the highway. A lot of people heading up to the BC oil patch head through Alberta (via Grand Prairie) where they actually build divided highways because BC Highway 97 is simply too slow. Same goes for the rest of highway 97...a new light has been added being added in Peachland as we speak, a new light was recently added in Kamloops while a new overpass has been built in West Kelowna. 1 step forward, 2 steps back is what it seems like to me.

4 laning will not fix the problem. Divide, bypass, and overpass if necessary. How hard can that really be?

There is a thread about overhead power lines in the Kelowna section and the point was made about how much more affordable it is to build the infrastructure underground ahead of time than to do it after the fact. The same goes with highway construction. Setting aside land and actually coming up with a long term plan for efficient highways is WAY cheaper than trying to expropriate developed properties after the fact.

check out this thread: viewtopic.php?f=25&t=14473#p363229