Photo: Google Street View
Duncan Avenue at Columbia Street, where a Penticton girl was struck in the crosswalk this week.
The City of Penticton will be adding more safety measures to a local intersection after a teenage girl on her way to school was hit by a car and prompted outcry.
On Monday, June 12, a 14-year-old girl was hit by a vehicle in the middle of a Duncan Avenue and Columbia Street crosswalk, captured on a nearby store’s security camera flying up over the vehicle’s hood.
The girl suffered a broken arm, severe bruising and injuries to her leg, all on her left side where she was hit.
Her mother Nicole* told Castanet she hoped the incident would prompt change, as many families in the area had previously expressed concerns that, given the influx of new homes and development in the area further up the hill at Sendero Canyon, increased traffic has not been properly dealt with.
After publishing Nicole’s story, Castanet received letters and comments to that same effect, sharing personal experience with drivers allegedly speeding or driving without paying attention through the area.
“If at the end of the day that made there be a light or a four way stop, I would be able to sleep at night. That at least something good came out of it,” Nicole told Castanet following the incident.
At the time, City of Penticton communications advisor Shane Mills said the intersection was “not scheduled for changes,” but that city staff are “always reviewing to see where improvements can be made.”
In an update Friday, Mills said things have changed.
“As a follow-up to the incident at Duncan and Columbia, staff have reviewed the area and will be installing a four-way stop at the intersection as part of broader traffic calming measures that were already planned for Lawrence Avenue to address speeding,” Mills wrote in an email.
“The tender is out now and that work would happen later this summer.”
As for the incident itself, RCMP said the driver of the vehicle remained at the scene, cooperated with the investigation, and there was no indication that “speed or impairment” were factors.
The driver received a violation ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian.
“This is a reminder for both pedestrians and drivers to be cautious when driving during times when children are coming and going from school,” said Cpl. James Grandy, media relations officer with the RCMP, in a press release this week.
According to the B.C. Government, a violation ticket for failing to yield to a pedestrian is a charge of less than $200, depending on how quickly it is paid.
Nicole said Friday she is happy to hear the intersection will get a four-way stop, but sad it took a tragedy to get there and disappointed that the driver of the vehicle did not receive more than a ticket, citing the fact that, allegedly, the driver may have been distracted.
“[My daughter] went away in an ambulance with a cast on for the rest of the summer … distracted drivers must pay. Driving a heavy dangerous vehicle is a serious responsibility.”
*Castanet has omitted Nicole’s last name to protect the identity of her child