Tired of seeing cars speed up and down Campbell Road in West Kelowna, Sheila Pacholok decided to do something.
Pacholok rallied together neighbours for a barbecue and were escorted by Kelowna RCMP as they walked down their street with signs.
“The speed down our road is crazy, we live in this beautiful area that has this rural feel, but the speed is 50 kilometres per hour and it’s unmonitored,” Pacholok said. “I wanted to do something and I wanted it to be a positive moment.”
The safety of not only the human residents but also the wildlife that is in the area is a concern for the neighbours as well. Cars driving past their neighbours rolled down their windows to talk to the activists.
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“Somebody stopped already and commended us for bringing that awareness, I think more can be done to ensure that there is no more speeding along this road,” said Domenic Rampone. “The other morning I was working in the orchard and I could hear them at 5:30 in the morning speeding down. Events like this bring together the neighbourhood and hopefully through collaboration we can find more solutions.”
Pacholok noted that there are no sidewalks on her street even though the road is meant to become a walk-way and bike route in West Kelowna’s Official Community Plan.
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Neighbour Jackie Simmons’ backyard ends on Campbell Road and says the speeding is impacting her quality of life.
“This really severely impacts the enjoyment of our yard, it’s constant. It’s a busy road there’s nothing we can do about that. But people are zooming by,” Simmons said. “My husband and I drive over to town, we walk along the water or up on Abbot Street. We can’t walk around the neighbourhood because we would get run over.”
The community has approached the West Kelowna city council but have not seen the changes that include: street lights, sidewalks and more signage they want implemented.
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