Adding her 'two cents'

Re. Bill Ferguson’s letter Kelowna traffic suggestions (Castanet, June 7)

I agree with him about the deplorable state of traffic here in Kelowna. It is a nightmare in this overburdened narrow valley.

I recall (Kelowna’s) current mayor’s campaign promise was to address the traffic problems as he stated he has years of traffic control experience. As the letter discusses the horrors of traffic in Kelowna, it is evident little to nothing has been done since he took office in the way of improving traffic flow.

To my understanding, part of that is because Highway 97 is under the jurisdiction of the province, so I wonder if discussions have taken place between the city and the province and what resulted from those conversations.

The rest of Kelowna is his responsibility. I would hope his generous salary is an impetus for him to work harder for residents of this city to be able to commute in a safer and less stressful manner.

My suggestions for improvement are:

1. Stop building on every inch of land.

2. Remove all the ridiculously large bike lanes that have eliminated right turn or install smaller single-direction bike lanes on both sides of roads so bicycles travel in the same direction as traffic. That way, right-turn lanes can be left in place.

In my travels, I have not seen a plethora of bicycles traversing any bike lanes to justify their cost or space. Not to forget the abundance of concrete used in all city road projects that eliminate parking, narrow roadways, and contribute to CO2 emissions and accelerated heating of the city. Concrete contributes four to eight percent of emissions worldwide. It also is known to produce surface of heat of 85 F (29.4 C) on hot days.

3. Create more parking spaces and require every real estate project to have adequate parking.

On another issue—community suggestions for water management:

1. Stop building on every inch of land.

2. Stop giving permits for one and two-bedroom “luxury” suites with three bathrooms.

3. Stop killing trees with every development project. The land does not need to be scraped bare. There are many fabulous projects that have included the natural landscape.

4. Require established trees to be incorporated into plans.

5. Plant more trees.

6. Allow more natural growth along the lake by not removing the ecosystems in place.

7. Stop micromanaging nature.

Though I have lost faith that anything residents of this city suggest will happen, I feel compelled to add my two cents.

Rita Parker