Nov 132011
Peachland News asked the candidates for Peachland council questions about themselves and important issues. Below is a question asked and the unedited answers received.
Question 12: What is your opinion of the 30 km/h speed limit on Beach Avenue?
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Peter SchierbeckI am a strong believer in this speed along Beach Avenue. As I am sure everyone is aware there are many locations along this piece of road that kids enjoy in the summer and many others walk the rest of the year. I would hate to see an accident and at 30 Km/h this is more unlikely. I believe that at 30 people will travel at 40 and should it be put back to 50 they would travel at 60 and that is dangerous. I recommend to all, travel slower and enjoy the drive, if you want to get there quicker – leave earlier or use Highway 97 which has a speed limit of 70. |
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Ernie HurdI don’t believe the 30 from 13th to Todds is agood idea. Maybe we can seasonally adjust from 13th to 8th but.this would probably cause too much confusion. |
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Eldon KerbesThe 30 km speed limit on Beach Avenue is overkill, especially during the evening and in the winter. |
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Eric HallIt may be ok in the summer but it seems to be unnecessary in the winter. I would advise the RCMP that any enforcement should be done during the summer months only. |
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Keith FieldingI support it. |
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Ken WhiteleggI would like to see just a small change but a safe one increase the speed to at least 40 with school or playground at 30. |
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Lee SawchukLeave the 30km in effect. Beach is frequented by many and safety is paramount. |
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Terry CondonI support the 30 KPH limit The redesign of Beach Av. From 13th to downtown promotes a more relaxed drive. Those in a hurry have the Highway as an option |
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Grant EisworthJust what does the lower speed accomplish? Is there a history of problems in this stretch which call for a lowering of the speed? At least 8 months of the year, the traffic seems extremely light to me. However, during the summer season, it seems to be getting busier and more congested. Especially due to the fact that the total road width has been considerably narrowed (in places) within the last few years. I wonder if there is a concern, would it make sense to lower the speed limit during the time of more congestion, or would this just cause too much confusion. |
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Lindsay BellAnswer not received. |
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Charlette BroadowayThis decision was made at the council meeting right before the by-election last year…I think the 30 km speed limit should have been implemented during the tourist season only and from 8 am to 8 pm only. I drive the road every day, sometimes numerous times per day, and in the summer months is does make sense during the day to drive slow, but now that summer is over, I don’t see a real benefit to 30 km/h, day or night. |
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Cindy FortinIn my opinion, placing a 30 km/h speed limit along the entire lengthy of Beach Avenue was a mistake, and I would like to see it changed. I understand that it is necessary for traffic to slow down from the lights at Princeton Avenue to just past the community centre. But then the traffic speed should be set back to 50 km/h. |
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Vern MobergI think 30K is fine if in a hurry use Hwy |
Answers submitted by candidates after publication will be added to this post.
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Erleen, you forgot about playgrounds that are 30 kph from dawn til dusk everyday
Chief. Technically yes you can get a speeding ticket while riding a bicycle, also cyclists are supposed to obey the rules of the road too which doesn’t seem to happen often, example, riding down the road and then turning into a crosswalk thinking that is okay! very common, it’s called a crossWALK for a reason, not a crossride
Having the signs change during the busy beach season to 30 km/hr makes perfect sense then back to normal for the rest of the time as long as the RCMP are aware of this.
I know of a few incidents when drivers were issued tickets for 3-5 km/hr over 30, now that just ridiculous.
If the idea to have the speed slower than the original 50 when actually everyone went 60 or more was now to post it at 30 to get people to go 40.
Now get caught going 30 and receive tickets seems a bit unfair.
If the road was only for strolling along the beach only then fine but it’s not.
Two faced… I’ve personally watched council members speeding down Beach Ave. My girlfriend was almost run down by one of the town staff who was doing more than twice the speed limit. The only accidents that will happen on Beach Ave. will be speeders doing more than 60kmh. If any speed limit were to happen, it should be enforced. Especially between the hours 7-9 am, 11am to 1 pm, and from 4-6 pm. And also when ANY functions happen downtown such as meetings and events. It is absolutely rare for most drivers to stick to the speed limit. Would this council push to possibly double the fines along Beach Ave? Probably not… they don’t make that much money. Talk is cheap.
Just Sayin’
I will say one thing for the 30km speed. Its a blast to pace cars on Beach while on my bike. Some great looks from people who are going the speed limit when I’m able to keep up with them
I wonder if a ticket would be issued if caught speeding on Beach with a bike?
LOL!!!! Good point Chief.
I agree with you Mayor, I to drove through town every night on my way home just to cruz the beach, and stop at the store for some refreshments and lotto ticket.
Now the only ticket that concerns me is traffic one so I avoid the area completely.
The only time I frequent the area is when I absolutely have to.
It may increase the usage of the walkway but most are from out of town and don’t have any reason to support the businesses in Peachland because they already purchased their items in their town on their way home.
All I can say about Beach ave is that I used to like to take the scenic route either home or when going out and drive the beach route, I liked the drive. Since the speed limit is now 30, I never go down Beach ave, ever. Way to great a chance of getting a speeding ticket and the drive isn’t nearly as enjoyable, I have to watch the speedo constantly if I want to drive the speed limit. It has taken an enjoyable drive for me and made it so I never go there and probably never will.
I don’t care if you are old and retireed and have all day to saunter down the road. My experiance is that I don’t go there because I don’t enjoy it any more.
I agree Slick Lizzy. I avoid downtown most of the time because it takes too long to drive from one end to the other. The sidewalk improvements in downtown Peachland separate pedestrians from traffic. Put a small pedestrian overpass by Swim Bay if that one area is a concern. So much focus is centred on Beach Ave. What about Princeton Ave? There are no sidewalks, hardly any street lights and it’s busy. Instead money was invested into putting rocks at the end of Princeton and the building of the “sidewalk to nowhere”. The priorities of council are mind boggling.
As for suggesting to sit back and enjoy the ride on Beach Ave, reality is that people aren’t going to waste their time. Same goes for going into the IGA mall. If I’m going to Westbank I will keep going as opposed to sitting in that turning lane for 15 minutes trying to get back onto Hwy 97. Think of the revenue that businesses have lost because of accessibility issues. It would be interesting to hear what local businesses have to say on this issue.
Well, I agree with both Erleen and Slick on a few things. In response, as a business on Beach Ave, I have no problem with the 30km. A couple of things, on a stretch of avenue that runs about 3 or 4 kms , how much time does that take us to travel at 30km vs 50km? It is a very busy road for a number of months.As Slick points out, how do you keep up with enforcement? 30kms for a bit, then 50, then 30, what a great fund raiser for our rcmp as we try to keep the speed where it should be in this small area. As far as avoiding the area because we have to drive slower, well all i can say is, we are all in a “hurry up and wait” society. How many times have you seen someone speed by you, weave in and out of traffic, and when you get to Orchard park that same driver is pulling in when you are. Peachlanders say that they like our community because it’s not busy, hectic. Merchants know them and take the time with them, put their time, effort into the community. No, we can’t always spend our hard earned dollars here, but I feel that if the speed limit on Beach Ave stops you from frequenting the shops you would really like to go to, it truly is time to weigh in on what you want our community to be.If you think turning into IGA mall takes too much time, compare it to turning into WalMart or other biz’s on the Westside, it’s no different. If you want us to be Kelowna or the Westside, so be it it. Our downtown has qualities that you do not find just anywhere, thats why we live here. At 30km we have more safety for children & families playing at heritage park, all the people taking advantage year round of our fabulous walkway. Are we all really all in in that big of a hurry?
I’ll provide an example for you. Sometimes I need to go to the Post Office. As I drive down Hwy 97 I have contemplated whether to stop at the Peachland Post office. I can either a) go into IGA mall and wait at that intersection for 10-15 minutes to turn left to get back onto the hwy or b) just keep going. Usually I just keep going because Peachland doesn’t have all the amenities I need so I go to the Post Office while shopping in Westbank. Time and effort for consumers has to be within reason. 30km is ridiculously slow and typically only used for school zones during school hours. It’s not just a few mins when you factor having to turn left at Hwy 97 (much like the IGA mall), driving past the Bliss bakery and driving all the way to Princeton Ave.
What prompted the change to 30km? Were there any serious traffic accidents with the 50km limit? Were there a number of children hit by cars? Usually a change in speed limit originates from a need and I’m curious to know where that need originated from. The sidewalk is safer now than it ever was before.
As for me weighing in what I want my community to be, I want it to be accessible. If it absolutely has to be 30km along Beach Ave figure out how to make it more accessible from Hwy 97. Figure out realistic solutions that work for everyone like having more access roads. I can assure you that my family doesn’t live here because of what downtown Peachland has to offer. The entire area needs to be revitalized in a big way. Personally, I didn’t agree with councils priorities to focus on all of the large developments and felt more should’ve been done to attract businesses to the area.
As for Peachland not being busy and hectic, just wait until all the developments start and thousands of people embark on our town. It’s important to be realistic with transportation planning as we head into the future.
well said peachaddict, you hit the nail on the head, plus after the end of this month when the new lights are working at the iga mall those “10″ minute waits will be over, i for one enjoy the slower drive along beach, why do we have to be in such a hurry nowadays?
It’s nice to see that a few have some common sense when thinking that the entire length of Beach Ave is overkill at 30 km/hr all year long.
The problem with adjusting the limit in the off season is how do you keep up with enforcement when it changes?
I agree with the lower speed at swim bay but not the entire route.
We built a walkway that is designed to separate the traffic from the pedestrians, that should be enough to make the walkers safe.