Ah, spring!
The temperature is rising. The potholes are growing. And I’m looking forward to the milder season on the streets of Nelson.
As a recent arrival from the congested streets of Edmonton I’m not nervous navigating via foot or behind the wheel here, although traffic statistics and Star readers indicate I should be.
Earlier this month Glyn Humphries sent a letter to the editor describing how an SUV speeding up the wrong way on a city street and narrowly missed his vehicle. He said it was the second time he’d almost been hit at the corner, and stated he’d witnessed numerous other close calls at the same intersection.
He finished by stating, “Mostly drivers in Nelson are patient and polite, but increasingly it seems there are a few reckless nincompoops who plainly disregard the rules of the road. Come on Nelson!”
There was a strong response to the Star website and Facebook page.
“3 times in the last year I’ve had to run out of the way of cars when I’m already halfway
across the crosswalk.”
“I just wish people would use their freaking turn signals!!”
“I hate driving in Nelson when we visit, no one stops at stop signs.”
“Don’t even get me started with some Nelsonites driving habits other than ‘it’s all about
me’ attitude.”
There were many others. And not one disagreed with Humphries.
The latest traffic stats from the Nelson Police Department indicates drivers are getting a lot worse.
Across the board, virtually all violation stats were up significantly for 2017 when compared to the previous year.
Intersection tickets up to 70 (61), Total Violation tickets ( including warnings ) 786
(335), Collisions; 151 (116), Hit and Run; 73 (61), Injury crashes; 10 (2), Traffic incidents
(vehicles blocking driveways); 184 (114), Driver’s licence suspensions (includes
impaired drivers); 82 , (35. The only stats that saw a decrease was total vehicle
infractions, which finished with 135, down from 152.
The intersection of Ward and Vernon streets has been identified by ICBC as Nelson’s
worst crash intersection due to the potential for pedestrian-related accidents.
Other dangerous intersections are Front and Hall streets and Government Road and
Highway 3A.
Sgt. Dan Markevich of the Nelson Police Department said the jump in injury crashes is consistent with numbers across the entire southeast district of the province, although he did say overall crash statistics are slightly higher here than in Castlegar and Trail.
Markevich, born and raised in Nelson and a member of the NPD for 13 years, added that other factors could affect the spike.
”It can be partly attributed to the addition of our 18th member which allows our members some extra time to do traffic work,” said Markevich, adding that the beat officer is now assigned traffic duties when time permits.
He said school zones have not been a problem, although NPD increase enforcement after school begins, after Christmas break and after spring break.
Markevich said he hasn’t noticed a change in drivers’ attitudes over the years and said he would even give motorists in Nelson a passing grade.
“I personally think we have good drivers in our area, but with such a small downtown core the bad ones stand out much more,” said Markevich.
He continued, “Overall, I think the drivers in Nelson compare with the surrounding communities. Our hills are definitely a challenge so I think we actually have some better drivers.”
When you factor in the large increase in violations, those are encouraging comments from a law enforcement officer.
There are certainly some serious concerns about motorists in Nelson. And I’m not making light of that.
But it won’t stop me from enjoying small-city driving.