Commuter Hell

[dodgerdodge]

Is it me or is it getting worse? I have had to travel into Kelowna from Westside this last 2 weeks on several occasions and boy oh boy the traffic back up is terrible. Joining at Horizon/Boucherie and the line up is already back beyond that, probably to Hudson/Westlake or farther. Its just slow stop start all the way to the ridiculous pedestrian light at Abbot. One day it was so busy that traffic was backed right up along the new road behind the shopping centre and right across the bridge from Westside Rd where so many people were trying to merge into a non existent flow.
Lots of talk about the new Boucherie interchange and removal of lights and potentially the same at Hudson yet this will have Zero effect for maximum cost unless someone does something about the light cluster at Abbot/Pandosy/Ellis
My guess as to why it seems so bad lately is too many damn pedestrians and cyclists using that Abbot St crossing now the weather is good but i don't know this for sure.

[Queen K]

My guess is all the multi-condo complexes everywhere being occupied by people who work outside the home.
Traffic is coming and going at all times now. From all directions.

[lightspeed]

Commuting has become appalling. The road network is 15 years behind where it should be.

The city is pretty much gridlocked and the entire valley suffocates under the increased summer traffic.

Quality of life factor definitely reduces each year.

[LANDM]

It's called "summer" and an increasing population.
So yes, it's getting worse on a daily basis right now, until the fall, and on a yearly basis....forever?

[dsldriver]

It's called "summer" and an increasing population.
So yes, it's getting worse on a daily basis right now, until the fall, and on a yearly basis....forever?

But lightspeed hit the nail on the head. The city's road network is 15 years behind where it should be.

The big problem is the municipalities keep approving building permits knowing full well that something needs to be done. But what should they do?? Really the road network is already at capacity for the way the city is layed out. The fact that the province didn't listen to people when they were designing the new bridge doesn't help. Second crosssing would be great, but is way too many years away.

As a transit dirver, I have noticed that the loads on the 97 coming in from the Westside are increasing. Some people are figuring it out, but not enough. If 50 people take the bus in, that's 50 less cars on the road. Problem is that there isn't enough capacity on the existing service to make it a viable optioni, and as most people in the valley say, "transit here sucks." And in some aspects it does. But for the most part, it's just an excuse people use to justify to themselves to drive their vehicle into a congested city and complain about the traffic.

Thesse concerns all need to be brought up at westside council meetings. They need to hear from people that somethign needs to be done. Let's face it. Findlater doesn't really care. He lives on the west side and his job is on the west side. So the less money he has to spend, the better he looks. I don't mean to sound demeaning when I say that either. Most politicians don't understand, becuase they never hear about it and don't experience it on a regular basis.

The highway and bridge are goverened by the province. They need to hear about it as well. I think Crusty Clark being the MLA over on the west side will help. If she is ever there, people need to visit her and tell her what is needed. second crosssing, more transit, or removing lights and turns in Kelowna to get rid of the back up onto the bridge.

The ultimate fix for traffic in the central Okaangan is a bypass of Kelowna altoghether. That isn't popular with the businesses in the city. But to get rid of thru traffic would fix the majority of the traffic problems we have. People who want to stop, will. Those who don't just get *bleep* off at having to sit in traffic, and vow never to return.

[Steve-O]

If you see a cyclist blasting past you on the shoulder while you are sitting in traffic, chances are that's me! I can get to work quicker on my bike (westside to near hwy 33) than driving. Passed a coworker near the WFN building the other morning and I had locked my bike and started some cool down stretches by the time she pulled up. Plus I get a decent workout and it is good for my mindset at the end of the day.

OP figures its the light at Abbot, but I find traffic moves better once I'm on the bridge and past everyone merging from Sneena and Westside. My opinion is that more population in the summer months and people getting out and about enjoying what the valley has.

MOT is studying ways to alleviate congestion including a second crossing, Kelowna and West Kelowna bypasses but the one that makes most sense but has most short term pain, is upgrading existing corridor by trenching and overpasses. Like lightspeed says, today's infrastructure is way behind the times.

[kgcayenne]

...OP figures its the light at Abbot, but I find traffic moves better once I'm on the bridge and past everyone merging from Sneena ....

Those effin SNEEEEEENERRRRRRS. Those asshats make it impossible for people that live down Campbell to get off their own damn street.

If only there were a way to take the 'bridge' access away from the Sneeners.

[lightspeed]

The ultimate fix for traffic in the central Okaangan is a bypass of Kelowna altoghether. That isn't popular with the businesses in the city. But to get rid of thru traffic would fix the majority of the traffic problems we have. People who want to stop, will. Those who don't just get *bleep* off at having to sit in traffic, and vow never to return.

Studies quoted 4% is all that travels thru. I call BS and I think it's a whitewash to avoid the extra expense of getting these nuggets off 97/Harvey.

[OldIslander]

The ultimate fix for traffic in the central Okaangan is a bypass of Kelowna altoghether. That isn't popular with the businesses in the city. But to get rid of thru traffic would fix the majority of the traffic problems we have. People who want to stop, will. Those who don't just get *bleep* off at having to sit in traffic, and vow never to return.

Yes, a bypass really is the answer, although Kelowna's current layout doesn't easily lend itself to one. A 2nd crossing would likely be required to achieve this.

The last time we drove through Penticton, the new bypass there (Hwy 97, following much of the OK river channel) made the drive through town almost pleasant. Compared to before, when you had to drive 5+ km of congested Main Street. Here on the island, the most successful bypass skirts west of Nanaimo -- essentially a separated highway, much of it freeway, all the way to Campbell River. The drive along the coast before this was excruciating in summer, with long slow lines of cars, following behemoth RV's. Now the old highway is still chock full of cars & RV's, but it's locals and tourists, enjoying the specific areas they are in. A few miles west, traffic is moving at 100+ kmp to the next community.

I wish you folks lots of luck getting this sorted out. It sounds bloody awful...!

[OldIslander]

As a transit dirver, I have noticed that the loads on the 97 coming in from the Westside are increasing. Some people are figuring it out, but not enough. If 50 people take the bus in, that's 50 less cars on the road. Problem is that there isn't enough capacity on the existing service to make it a viable optioni, and as most people in the valley say, "transit here sucks." And in some aspects it does. But for the most part, it's just an excuse people use to justify to themselves to drive their vehicle into a congested city and complain about the traffic.

Here's a series of photos shot in downtown Seattle, showing the effects of removing cars from the inner city, and getting people into buses, transit cars, bicycles, etc. It's titled '200 People in 177 Cars' and is quite powerful...

http://imgur.com/gallery/sCvRIEd

[kgcayenne]

It will be an incredibly long time before the people of Kelowna lose their emotional attachments to their cars.

[ZackP]

We need to do something about the traffic, mainly West Kelowna to Kelowna in the morning. It is as if the number of cars has quadrupled and is outrageous for a city our size. The recent article on Castanet is just a bunch of crap trying to get everyone to stop complaining. The Ministry of Transportation needs to fix something. Mainly those pedestrian lights on Abbot, one person causes all the cars on the road to stop for ridiculous amounts of time. PLEASE CITY OF WEST KELOWNA AND KELOWNA DO SOMETHING!

[tw1nm3t3or]

This is a huge problem. A 10 to 15 minute drive which takes an hour. Let's talk about the issues one being that back road where everyone takes which CAUSES the traffic jams. That road needs to be closed it has done nothing but problems since it opened both entering AND leaving Kelowna.

[ferri]

https://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelo ... muter-hell

[GordonH]

We need to do something about the traffic, mainly West Kelowna to Kelowna in the morning. It is as if the number of cars has quadrupled and is outrageous for a city our size. The recent article on Castanet is just a bunch of crap trying to get everyone to stop complaining. The Ministry of Transportation needs to fix something. Mainly those pedestrian lights on Abbot, one person causes all the cars on the road to stop for ridiculous amounts of time. PLEASE CITY OF WEST KELOWNA AND KELOWNA DO SOMETHING!

The solution would have been simple when they 4 laned the highway, instead of all those traffic lights. If they had gone with underpasses & off & on lanes.
Of course once you get closer to Kelowna you are once again faced with snailsville. Kelowna side would have needed overpasses due to high water table.