The roundabout at Lorne Street and 3rd Avenue is one of 22 improvements ICBC helped fund in Kamloops and area last year.

(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)

By Jennifer Stahn

ICBC released numbers showing how much was invested in make roads safer across the province in 2012 and the Kamloops area saw about four per cent of the approximately $8-million spent.

With 22 projects completed in the area, improvements were made to make roads safer for both pedestrians and drivers. Rumble strips, improved lighting, pedestrian corridor lighting, traffic timing optimization and traffic studies were among the projects completed in Kamloops, Ashcroft, Cache Creek and area – for a total investment from ICBC of $354,000.

Salmon Arm and Sicamous saw $47,000 invested towards a corridor safety study on Hwy. 1 as well as pedestrian improvements at Hwy. 97 and Parksville. Merritt and Logan Lake saw rumble strips installed on Hwy. 5 between Meadow Creek and Clapperton and pedestrian lights installed at Hwy. 8 and Garcia Avenue as well as Hwy 97D and Chartrand Avenue, with a total of $35,000 invested by ICBC.

John Dickinson, ICBC's director of road safety said in a release today, March 20, ICBC “will continue to invest in road safety initiatives that help us reduce claims costs to keep rates as low as possible for our customers.”

The safer roads program was launched in 1989 and since has invested over $110 million across the province. All proposed projects are assessed on how much safer the roads will become. Over a two-year period studies showed a 20 per cent reduction in severe crashes and a 12 per cent reduction in property damage crashes where road improvements were made.

Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Terry Lake said, “it's important that roadways include safety improvements for pedestrians, in addition to vehicles. Making the roads safer for pedestrians may encourage more drivers to choose a greener alternative.”

Kamloops and area projects in 2012:

• Lorne Street at 3rd Avenue – roundabout installation.
• Hwy. 1 weigh scale – rumble strips and delineation installation.
• Tranquille Road overpass – investigate early warning technologies for over-height vehicles.
• Central Business District Zone – traffic signal timing optimization.
• Hwy. 1, Tobiano to junction at Hwy. 5 – rumble strips.
• Tranquille-Criss Creek Road railway crossing – signage improvements and guardrail.
• Hwy. 1, Monte Creek to Pritchard – signage improvements.
• 8th Street ramps and Halston Ave – traffic signal installation.
• Hwy. 97 Ashcroft to Hwy. 1 – rumble strips.
• Hwy. 1 near Sabiston Hill – rumble strips
• Hwy. 97 junction at Hwy. 99 Bonaparte Bridge – rumble strips
• Hwy. 1 near Savona and Sabiston Hill – delineators and widening of shoulders for guardrails.
• Hwy. 99 Regional Boundary to Boulder Creek – rumble strips
• Hwy. 1 Tank Hill – rumble strips
• Hwy. 12 at St George – lighting improvements.
• Hwy. 1 near Tank Hill – chevron signs, extension of guardrail, improve signing.
• several area-wide initiatives – signal head upgrades, replacement of warning signs, installation of uninterrupted power supplies for traffic signals, school accessibility upgrades (including improved pedestrian signage and lights) and pedestrian lights.

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

News from © iNFOnews, 2013