Safety measures on the way

Photo: Chelsea Powrie

A Kaleden school is making progress with safety improvements to the busy road it sits on following a meeting with provincial and regional officials Thursday.

The potentially dangerous main roadway in front of Kaleden Elementary school worried parents enough for the president of the Kaleden Parents' Advisory Council to send a letter to the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, Claire Trevena, in November. 

The letter requested the installation of a sidewalk from the corner of Lakehill Road at Linden Avenue through to the school property, an extension of the 30 kilometre per hour school zone, a speed reader board on approach to the school and crosswalk delineators and speed bumps. 

On Thursday morning, the PAC met with Tom Siddon, director of the Regional District of the South Okanagan Area D, and Jeff Wiseman of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

According to PAC chair Darcia Harcott, the meeting was "favourable," and some minor safety improvements will be implemented very quickly. School District 67 trustee Ginny Manning, liaison for Kaleden Elementary, concurred.

"We looked over the whole site and checked it all out and what [Wiseman] agreed to in the end was a number of measures like some school zone sign changes, some traffic-calming diamonds that are painted on the road as well as some other signage and speed reader boards," Manning said.

However, they were told speed bumps in the roadways would be against ministry policy. The proposed sidewalk is also still up in the air.

"I think that's a project that is going to continue to be discussed. Hopefully we can work that out with different levels of government but that's going to take a little longer," Manning said.