After experiencing several near misses, another Revelstoke resident is calling for safety improvements along Highway 1.
Christina Stadnyk says she isn't one to air complaints on social media, but two separate scares she received while attempting to cross Trans-Canada at the Bend Road/Hwy. 23 intersection changed that.
In a Dec. 5 post, Stadnyk shared how two weeks prior, she'd just picked up Dairy Queen for her kids and was preparing to cross the highway, northbound towards the Fas Gas.
"My light turned green and without thinking I started to go," said Stadnyk, who then noticed a westbound semi that "was not stopping or slowing down."
"I stopped halfway through the intersection so he could run his red light! It scared the crap out of me."
Stadnyk then shared another experience that occurred just prior to her writing the post. Stadnyk explained that at 6:30 p.m. that evening, she and her son crossed at the same intersection to pick up dinner. She noted how now when the light turns green, she pauses to make sure inbound semis are "actually going to slow down before I cross or turn."
"The semi coming up the hill going eastbound was going so fast, and it was obvious the driver was not even going to try to stop or slow down, and went right through the red light again!" said Stadnyk. "This is the second time I could have been T-boned by a semi at the exact same location!
"This time I had my child in the vehicle and I was so freaking mad! I laid on the horn and if I didn鈥檛 have my son with me, I would鈥檝e chased that guy down the highway and called the cops. But because my son was with me, I wasn鈥檛 gonna put him in another dangerous situation just in case the semi driver got aggressive or something."
Stadnyk then proceeded to share two more frightening near misses involving semis, one along the same highway corridor and another at the four-way stop at Airport Way and Nichol Road.
"As a mother of three teenagers I am beyond mad, and if my child was ever hit by a semi driver, you would never hear the end of me," she said.
Stadnyk used the post to warn fellow Revelstoke residents to "never cross the highway on a green light without making 100 per cent sure that the semis passing by town are going to stop." She also asked what the community could do to "ensure the safety of ourselves and our loved ones?"
"Because if I鈥檝e almost been hit four times within our community, I can鈥檛 be the only one!" she said. "And four times is four times too many for my liking!"
Speaking to the Review, Stadnyk said her biggest concern is commercial truck traffic, "but only because they鈥檙e so big and they鈥檙e not going to stop and if you get hit you鈥檙e pretty much screwed." However, she's also concerned about the number of non-commercial traffic incidents that have occurred at the Oak Drive/Highway 1 intersection.
"My really good friend and co-worker lives up there and this summer they had so many accidents," said Stadnyk, explaining the road there was being repaved last summer, "so it was all black and it took them forever to put out any lines鈥� when they did make a turning area there鈥� there is no light there and there is no warning, saying you need to slow down, so people were flying down that highway towards town, but then you have people turning out of Johnson Heights that are not going fast at all so they just get hit."
Stadnyk isn't the only one concerned about that particular intersection. On Nov. 7, calling upon the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) to add safety improvements including a reduced speed limit, use of traffic control personnel and installing traffic lights.
"These improvements are critical, and in need of prompt execution, to ensure the safety of all residents and travellers," reads the petition. The ministry told the Review it was familiar with the matter and that it was being addressed.
"The ministry regularly monitors its road network to maintain safety and reliability The ministry will continue to work with the City of Revelstoke to evaluate potential improvements to the intersection at Highway 1 and Oak Drive," reads an email from MOTI. "The ministry is committed to working closely with the city, especially as development growth occurs with potential impacts to highway safety and functionality at that intersection."
Stadnyk suggested she would take her effort beyond the social media post, which prompted considerable feedback.
"I know a lot of people commented and they鈥檙e like, well this happens everywhere鈥nd you need to be a defensive driver," said Stadnyk. "I fully understand that. Clearly I am defensive or else I would have been killed by now. However, it doesn鈥檛 matter how defensive you are, sometimes it鈥檚 out of your control鈥�
"I don鈥檛 know what it is that could be done. I鈥檓 not too sure. Someone did tell me thought that they saw RCMP sitting over at that (Bend Road) crossing today which I thought was good."
