West Kelowna

Photo: Trevor Rockliffe

Kids and traffic on Shannon Lake Drive, West Kelowna

It's a good start.

That's the way many on West Kelowna Council described a six-point plan aimed at slowing down traffic in the Shannon Lake area.

Council Tuesday approved all six recommendations put forward by the Boulevard Transportation Group following a two year study.

The six traffic calming measures include:

• Curb extensions at intersection of Shannon Ridge Drive and Shannon Place
• Speed cushions on Shannon Ridge Drive adjacent to Shannon Lake Elementary
• Install maximum speed sign on Shannon Way
• Install speed cushions (3 locations) on Auburn Road
• Install speed reader board on Shannon Lake Road
• Install crosswalk at Shannon Lake Road and Shannon Way adjacent to the convenience store

Councillors did have some issue with just where the speed reader board would be placed on Shannon Lake Road.

Councillor Gord Milsom suggested the area around Shannon Woods Drive.

"The recommendation says the speeder reader board is going to be, tentatively, close to Shannon Woods Drive. I know there is a lot of speeding on that road," says Milsom.

Photo: Contributed - Daniel Hayduk

A young drive is comforted after the accident that claimed Stew Tuningley's life.

"There are people that walk and cycle there. There was a loss of life there not that long ago. It's a busy, busy road."

The death Milsom was referring to was that of Stew Tuningley, a Lions Club member who was hit by a vehicle and killed July 21, 2011 while he and members of the club were conducting a roadside clean-up.

The traffic measures will come at a cost of $64,700.

"I'm quite supportive of what we see in front of us as a beginning," says Councillor Rick de Jong.

"I was prepared to go a little further. I hope we are going to be tracking this going forward to see how effective it is addressing the identified issues."

Council further asked that a report on the effectiveness of the measures be prepared three months after the measures are put in place.