A Kelowna woman is raising the alarm about crosswalk safety near Orchard Park Shopping Centre.

“I’m constantly almost getting hit,” says Debbie Blumauer, who was motivated to write a letter to the mayor and city council after an especially frightening incident last week at the intersection of Dilworth Drive and Baron Road.

“It was a raised-up 4x4 black Dodge Ram, very high.

“He literally had to slam on his brakes and I’m waving my arms in the crosswalk. He slammed on the brakes. He stops all the traffic that had the right of way as well and he’s honking at me, mad at me, yet I have the right of way.”

She moved to Kelowna in May 2024 from the Lower Mainland and has definitely noticed drivers here are less attentive to pedestrians.

“There’s near misses down there too. This isn’t unique to Kelowna but up here it's…I don’t know. I don’t want to say people don’t know how to drive but they just don’t understand crosswalks.”

She says most days she wears high visibility clothing, including a strip of flashing lights when she’s walking at night.

“Throughout my extensive travels and time spent in Metro Vancouver, I have never encountered such a high frequency of near misses with aggressive or negligent drivers,” wrote Blumauer in her letter to council.

“I adhere to all traffic regulations, ensuring I cross at designated crosswalks only when the "walk" signal is illuminated. Even when the "don't walk" signal shows 15 seconds remaining, I patiently wait. Despite my vigilance, I have recorded over 20 near misses since I began tracking these near misses.”

The City of Kelowna regularly reviews crosswalk and pedestrian safety measures.

“The city uses a whole number of different types of crosswalk improvements. Everything from a very basic signed and marked crosswalk, which includes zebra markings, the large parallel bars to geometric improvements like changing the way the intersection is laid out,” explained senior transportation engineer Chad Williams.

He says they also keep tabs on the latest innovations.

“Right now, we are using something called RRFBs, which are Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons. It’s a new treatment that’s just been adopted by the Transportation Association of Canada a few years ago.

“That has become a standard for us when we are doing flashing beacons. It allows us to do it more cost-effective and do more crossings a year,” notes Williams.

He points out that residents can submit a service request if they have concerns about a particular corner or crosswalk. It will be evaluated by city staff to determine if safety improvements are needed.