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Kamloops News

Improving intersection could cost $30 million

Coun. Arjun Singh agrees with one resident the intersection of 8th Street and Batchelor Drive can be 'difficult' to get through.

The question of how dangerous the intersection at Batchelor Drive, 8th Street and Westsyde Road is in comparision to others in Kamloops was raised today by a city councillor who says he's had negative experiences navigating the area.

“If it's not in the top 20, is it close? It is a difficult intersection to get through sometimes,” Coun. Arjun Singh asked city staffer Marvin Kwiatkowski at a council meeting Tuesday afternoon.

Though safety is always an issue, Mayor Peter Milobar says upgrading the intersection could cost upwards of $30 million because the intersection and Halston Avenue would have to be dealt with at the same time – the city cannot do one without the other. The numbers come from a time when the city looked at upgrading the intersection to allow Ord Road to become a dangerous goods route.

The intersection, identified as a problem by one resident in an email to council and by ICBC as a top-four intersection for collisions in 2012, is not as bad as it first seems Kwiatkowski says. The main problem is actually the Halston Avenue ramp onto 8th Street, he notes, which has been identified by the city as a top intersection for collisions. Most of those collisions are rear-end crashes.

A study was completed last summer, Kwiatkowski notes, and staff have not had a lot of complaints about the intersection, even though two have come in during the last two months. The light cycle was adjusted in March and a traffic study several weeks later showed traffic clearing every cycle.

“It's something we will continue to monitor,” Kwiatkowski says. “We'll keep an eye on it.”

To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call (250) 819-3723.

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