A new addition in Coldstream aimed at raising safety doesn’t appear to be reaching the mark.
A pair of speed tables (raised crosswalks) were installed Oct. 14 on Kalamalka Road between Aberdeen Road and Whetzell Drive.
These types of traffic-calming devices are used as a last resort when other measures have not produced results.
“They are part of a longer term plan discussed when the Grid Road was built,” said Mayor Jim Garlick. “There was a belief at that time that some traffic calming infrastructure would be needed to slow traffic that is using Kal Road as a short cut to Highway 97.”
But the efforts to slow traffic down don’t appear to be working.
“Personally I haven’t noticed vehicle decrease of speed,” said Coldstream Elementary principal Brian Stevens, who hasn’t received any feedback from parents.
The section of Kalamalka Road where the speed tables were installed includes Coldstream Elementary (a school zone, playground), the municipal office, a church, the Women’s Institute Hall and a number of houses as well as several intersections.
“This is a first step,” said Garlick. “Additional calming infrastructure may be installed if the two speed tables are not adequate to get drivers to slow down. The district will continue to monitor traffic.”
Meanwhile the speed humps are serving another purpose. They divert flood waters off Kalamalka Road, which have been experienced in the past.