It was the last straw for a Penticton mother when the wind force from a speeding car blew over her three year old child as he stood next to her pressing the crosswalk button at a busy intersection.
Tina Zumpano said there was a vehicle turning left from Johnson Road onto Alder Street and an impatient driver came speeding around the vehicle cutting close to the sidewalk. Immediately after she took up a petition for traffic calming measures that needed 10 signatures. In a matter of days she had 75.
“That situation was the end. It made me decide to put in the petition … I was livid. It was scary. It was a matter of him taking a step forward while pressing that button and he could have potentially been hit, and this is something that is preventable,” said Zumpano. “This intersection is extremely dangerous and is used by hundreds of children, seniors and families daily.”
Zumpano said she sent the petition to the City of Penticton last year to get traffic calming or any other safety measures put in place. On June 27 she is meeting with the transportation committee to discuss the matter further and she is looking for support from the community in the form of written submissions, photos and even video of vehicle infractions and dangerous situations to provide an even stronger foundation for her concerns. In 2016, the city introduced a Transportation Safety Policy, to standardize the procedure for dealing with traffic concerns. Safety issues are evaluated by staff, including referral to the RCMP and the city’s bylaw department.
The concerned mother, who also runs a licensed daycare in the neighbourhood, said she would like to see any form of traffic calming installed in the crosswalk including speed bumps, a wider sidewalk, a roundabout or a four-way stop — anything to break up traffic flow coming in both directions on Johnson Road. She said it is not unusual to see drivers getting to up to an estimated 80 kilometres per hour as they come around the corner from Upper Bench Road to Johnson Road or accelerating after the turn onto Johnson Road from Haven Hill Road.
“I would love to see anything — even the sidewalk around where the kids are pressing the crosswalk button extended, the road narrowed or a left-hand turning lane. Anything to control the speed. I had one gentleman from Haven Hill tell me he has seen vehicles coming so fast around the corner that they have come through the parking lot because they missed the turn,” she said. “There is only one sidewalk on that street so pedestrians have no choice but to use that crosswalk. It is crazy. I have seen the light indicating people are crossing and impatient drivers going through it.
“The controlled light is great, but it is not keeping people safe enough. At other busy intersections, such as Queen’s Park, they have a roundabout there so people have no choice but to keep it slow. Really we will be happy with any avenue the city can come up with that will keep the kids safe.”
Zumpano is asking if anyone has video of people speeding, going through the traffic lights or any other unsafe situation in the crosswalk to email them to her. She added written submissions about specific situations with dates and times at the intersection will also be helpful for her cause. Information can be shared with her by emailing tinazumpano@yahoo.caby June 22.