Westside Road has jumped from second to number one on BCAA's list of the province's worst roads.
Image Credit: SOURCE/ Google Street View
May 27, 2013 - 1:21 PM
Another car accident spotlighted Westside Road's already rocky reputation this Sunday, just a day before voting closes on BCAA's Worst Roads survey.
Despite upgrades on the notoriously dangerous road, Westside has risen from second worst on the top ten list to number one.
For the third year in a row, BCAA is asking the public to nominate a road they feel is in desperate need of repair or redesign. A 'worst road' might be unfriendly to cyclists and pedestrians, have poor road signs, crumbling pavement, or be prone to traffic congestion.
Sgt. Wade Seversen of the Kelowna RCMP says Westside's most recent accident involved a woman being taken to hospital with serious injuries. Just after noon on May 26, West Kelowna RCMP were dispatched to a collision at the Westside Road entrance to the mobile home park at 1525 Westside Rd.
A car being driven by a 69-year-old woman of West Kelowna was pointed northbound, stationary, and yielding to oncoming traffic before turning left. A Ford F350 pickup struck the car from behind pushing it into the oncoming southbound lane. The car hit the side of an oncoming GMC pickup traveling southbound. It was being operated by a 60-year-old man from Harrison Hot Springs.
"The woman driving the car was taken to hospital with serious but not life-threatening injuries," Seversen says.
The 28-year-old man, of Kelowna, who was driving the Ford F350 was issued a violation ticket under the Motor Vehicle Act for driving without care and attention.
West Kelowna Fire and Rescue also responded to the accident, and Darren Lee, assistant fire chief with the department says crews had to use the Jaws of Life to extract one of the people involved.
Lee says the accident was on a newer portion of Westside Road, near the overpass, where some improvements were recently done.
In his experience, Lee says Westside Road isn't much worse than other areas the department covers, as far as accidents are concerned.
"We see accidents in all places," he says.
Nevertheless, Westside has earned itself the title of B.C.'s Worst Road, with 87 per cent of voters attributing the label to potholes and crumbling pavement.
Got a gripe with a road near you? Voting is open until the end of the day.
To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call (250)309-5230.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013