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Reader pans ‘no left’ idea for Mutas & Victoria intersection

The 'no left' at Mutas and Victoria may solve some problems, but will create a bunch of other ones, reader says.

Editor,

Re: McDonald’s Restaurant expansion plans linked to traffic issues, News, Sept. 5.

How did City Staff come up with their proposed solution for the (summer only) traffic problem that exists on Victoria Road just on the Trans-Canada side of the railroad underpass? I don’t want to imply they were just sitting around the office smoking something expensive but I’m damned sure they didn’t get out and ask for advice from those that will be most affected.

To access A&W or McDonald’s from town, the faithful will have to drive up the narrow service road past Subway, turn west on Highway 1 then left onto Victoria or else cross the Columbia on the old bridge, then back on the Trans-Canada bridge then right onto Victoria. The report already described getting back into town from Timmy’s. Let’s go green, eh! Will I also have to follow these contortions if I’m riding my bicycle? Please mark bike lanes so I don’t get lost.

And those are minor problems only faced by us in private vehicles. I asked one trucker what he thought of going around a traffic circle near the Nomad to get back onto the highway. His answer was 53-foot trailers need a lot of room and that they’d better be right on top of snow clearing in the winter or the tow truck owners are going to be very happy. There are often a lot of freight trucks parked near McDonald’s and A&W. Perhaps city planning should get out of the office and ask the drivers for some workable solutions.

If there really is a serious problem that requires yet another taxpayer loan to cure, let’s do it right. Why not build the solution where the problem is. The bears and a few trees might have to be shifted, but there should be room for a roundabout right where the “problem” is or perhaps we could tunnel a couple of more lanes under the railroad?

Bill Shuttleworth,

Revelstoke