Traffic Concerns...

[Dizzy1]

Every year when I come back from the south I can tell as soon as I hit BC.

So can I, because the roads and traffic infrastructure are a joke. No where else in the world where I've driven have I seen such poorly designed, maintained roads and lack of any logical traffic flow than here.

[Jflem1983]

Every year when I come back from the south I can tell as soon as I hit BC.

So can I, because the roads and traffic infrastructure are a joke. No where else in the world where I've driven have I seen such poorly designed, maintained roads and lack of any logical traffic flow than here.

Add to that no side walks no real bike lanes. No plan for snow removal. Plow operators who plow snow into the middle of the hiway. Etc. BC is fkd when it comes to planning or infastructure or anything resembling work

[Grandan]

Every year when I come back from the south I can tell as soon as I hit BC.

So can I, because the roads and traffic infrastructure are a joke. No where else in the world where I've driven have I seen such poorly designed, maintained roads and lack of any logical traffic flow than here.

Add to that no side walks no real bike lanes. No plan for snow removal. Plow operators who plow snow into the middle of the hiway. Etc. BC is fkd when it comes to planning or infastructure or anything resembling work

Smurf, you don't get around much if you think the infrastructure in BC is as bad as you suggest.

I spent 2 weeks in Vermont. You have no idea.

There is no point comparing a mountainous region like BC with the bald prairie. The cost of blasting through rock drives the cost up. Roads cannot go in a straight line due to the steep grades. Road improvements are made to existing roads such as those in Glenmore which were built more than 100 years ago when there was only horse and buggy so is it any wonder that they don't make a lot of sense today?

[Dizzy1]

Smurf, you don't get around much if you think the infrastructure in BC is as bad as you suggest.

I spent 2 weeks in Vermont. You have no idea.

There is no point comparing a mountainous region like BC with the bald prairie. The cost of blasting through rock drives the cost up. Roads cannot go in a straight line due to the steep grades. Road improvements are made to existing roads such as those in Glenmore which were built more than 100 years ago when there was only horse and buggy so is it any wonder that they don't make a lot of sense today?

Actually, that was my comment, not Smurfs.

I always find it interesting how some people believe that BC is the only place that has highways through mountainous terrain or passes.

You should take a spin through Switzerland, Austria, Southern Germany, Northern Italy/France or Northern Scandinavia, Washington, Colorado, Wyoming, etc.

Closer to home - take a spin down Hwy 97 - cross the border at Osoyoos - same highway, terrain/geography yet the road design difference is night and day.

As for winter maintenance, most places I drive through uses a mixture of salt and fine sand - not the marble sized gravel BC uses (seems exclusively) on our highways, making it sound like you're in an epic WW2 movie battle scene when you get sprayed by the crap.

[Jonrox]

This thread is the prime example of over-exaggeration. I've said it a million times, don't exaggerate.

Traffic here is a piece of cake. The problem here isn't people speeding, it's that a lot of our roads should have higher speed limits than they do. People who are unskilled and drive slowly are a hazard that the rest of us are stuck working around.

[36Drew]

This thread is the prime example of over-exaggeration. I've said it a million times, don't exaggerate.

Traffic here is a piece of cake. The problem here isn't people speeding, it's that a lot of our roads should have higher speed limits than they do. People who are unskilled and drive slowly are a hazard that the rest of us are stuck working around.

Exaggerate much? The problem with your statement is that it's through the lense of a 20-something that hasn't travelled beyond his own borders. Perhaps.if you and jflem try travelling and driving in larger cities you'll have a different lense. Driving in Kelowna is kinda about the same level of crazy as Miami or Orlando. The big difference is in Florida it's the wrinklies whereas in Kelowna it's a bunch of entitled kids that think traffic signs are.purely suggestive and definitely not for them.

[Smurf]

Grandan wrote:

Smurf, you don't get around much if you think the infrastructure in BC is as bad as you suggest.

I spent 2 weeks in Vermont. You have no idea.

There is no point comparing a mountainous region like BC with the bald prairie. The cost of blasting through rock drives the cost up. Roads cannot go in a straight line due to the steep grades. Road improvements are made to existing roads such as those in Glenmore which were built more than 100 years ago when there was only horse and buggy so is it any wonder that they don't make a lot of sense today?

Sorry wrong person as was explained earlier. I was complaining about the idiot drivers in BC not about infrastructure. I agree I should get around more and I plan to, but as I said I have traveled most of Canada, most of the US, most of Europe, Great Britain and Ireland and feel I do have a general idea of drivers, their habits etc. BC is terrible in contrast to most places I have been.

As far as old people I have to disagree to a degree, possibly I am a bit prejudice being one of them. I have spent well over a decade snowbirding mostly in the Southwest US. We have owned a place in Yuma for over a decade and travel from there when we are down. Yuma AZ with a population of approximately 95,000 plus usually doubles in the winter months with mostly seniors and many very old seniors. I would much sooner drive there than in BC even though a lot of us are tourists and don't know our way around that well. One thing I do notice is that in general they follow the laws better than we do. In comparison they have very few drivers obsessed with their phones which is a plus for me. Also I would say there is much more enforcement which probably makes a difference. Just my personal observations.

[Jonrox]

This thread is the prime example of over-exaggeration. I've said it a million times, don't exaggerate.

Traffic here is a piece of cake. The problem here isn't people speeding, it's that a lot of our roads should have higher speed limits than they do. People who are unskilled and drive slowly are a hazard that the rest of us are stuck working around.

Exaggerate much? The problem with your statement is that it's through the lense of a 20-something that hasn't travelled beyond his own borders. Perhaps.if you and jflem try travelling and driving in larger cities you'll have a different lense. Driving in Kelowna is kinda about the same level of crazy as Miami or Orlando. The big difference is in Florida it's the wrinklies whereas in Kelowna it's a bunch of entitled kids that think traffic signs are.purely suggestive and definitely not for them.

You're too kind with the comment about my age. I'm nowhere near a 20-something.

I've lived in a few of Canada's major cities. I've driven in dozens of cities in the US, including frequent trips to some of the country's biggest. Kelowna is nowhere near Miami or Orlando driving... not even close. The only major US city that I can say had little to no traffic issues was Salt Lake City just before their Olympics... they had invested millions (maybe billions??) in infrastructure upgrades. I haven't been back in awhile though, so I can't say if it's still as good as it was.

If anyone thinks Kelowna driving is crazy, I really have to question whether they've traveled beyond their own borders. Kelowna is a piece of cake.

[Smurf]

For fun try finding your way through Paris where all the signs are in French. Even though we both understand some French we had to stop frequently and reorientate ourselves. You have to be careful of your whereabouts when you are in a strange city of that size with three young children. The trains and underground were just as much fun. But through it all I found the drivers much better than BC and the Okanagan in particular. They understand merging, stop signs, signal lights etc which are totally forgotten in the Okanagan by a majority of drivers. I found it a pleasure driving in Europe etc compared to the Okanagan.

[Dizzy1]

For fun try finding your way through Paris where all the signs are in French. Even though we both understand some French we had to stop frequently and reorientate ourselves. You have to be careful of your whereabouts when you are in a strange city of that size with three young children. The trains and underground were just as much fun. But through it all I found the drivers much better than BC and the Okanagan in particular. They understand merging, stop signs, signal lights etc which are totally forgotten in the Okanagan by a majority of drivers. I found it a pleasure driving in Europe etc compared to the Okanagan.

Funny thing about Europe is that they built their roads around cities and we built our cities around roads and we still it up