When turkeys became a safety issue, Castlegar, B.C., city council came up with two bright yellow signs adorned with pictures of the fowl to warn drivers of the hazard.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/ho-Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff
November 17, 2015 - 6:00 AM
CASTLEGAR, B.C. - Wild turkeys in Castlegar, B.C., now have a way to cross the road and get to the other side.
A flock of about 30 turkeys has been causing traffic troubles in the West Kootenay town for about a year and a half, said Coun. Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff.
"Basically, people were driving and slamming on their brakes because two, three, four times a day, they cross the road, I guess to go feed or to do whatever turkeys do," she said.
The poultry crossings caused some minor fender-benders, slowed traffic and even damaged vehicles.
"I had people contact me and say they had seen a turkey fly and crack somebody's windshield. You know, they're big birds, right? And if you just hit them a certain way, they could fly up and do that," Heaton-Sherstobitoff said.
When the birds became a safety issue, city council came up with two bright yellow signs adorned with pictures of the fowl to warn drivers of the hazard.
"We think we've got a great turkey picture there. And if it makes people happy or makes them slow down there, then we did a good job for a couple of hundred bucks," Heaton-Sherstobitoff said.
The signs were installed on Columbia Avenue about two weeks ago and so far, they seem to be working.
"People told me last week that the turkeys are actually crossing right below the signs," Heaton-Sherstobitoff said. "So the big joke now is that turkeys in Castlegar know how to read, so that's where they're crossing."
News from © The Canadian Press, 2015