Princeton Mayor Spencer Coyne got mad, and things are getting better.
鈥淭his is a joke. Where the hell is the province?鈥�
The mayor took to social media Monday, Aug. 16, to shame the provincial government in an attempt to get help with controlling traffic in his community.
Ever since the province closed the Coquihalla Highway Sunday, Aug. 15 due to wildfire, Princeton has been clogged with cars and trucks using Highways 3 and 5A as alternative routes.
鈥淚 am absolutely disgusted that we still don鈥檛 have any support from the province on traffic control,鈥� he said, during a live-feed video on his personal Facebook page.
鈥淭his is my personal rant on my personal page,鈥� he told the Spotlight, after recording the video at around 3 p.m.
The Spotlight then contacted Princeton RCMP.
Sgt. Rob Hughes said once he was made aware of the situation he put the wheels in motion.
鈥淎 call-out has been made to the Emergency Communications Centre for an authorization number to allow Princeton fire to conduct traffic control,鈥� said Hughes.
鈥淭he Town of Princeton, Princeton fire, the Regional District of the Okanagan Similkameen, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) and RCMP are all working in conjunction to alleviate the problem.鈥�
Hughes also put in a request that MOTI ceases paving on Highway 5A for a period, as it is exasperating the congestion.
When the highway was closed the municipality wasn鈥檛 notified.
鈥淚 think we found out about it on Twitter,鈥� Coyne said in an interview. At the time, the DriveBC website was disabled.
Then traffic began backing up in Princeton for kilometres and the situation only got worse the following day, he added.
Highways 3 and 5A converge with the town鈥檚 main downtown street, Bridge Street, and that entire block is under provincial jurisdiction because it is considered an off-ramp.
鈥淯nderstandably there鈥檚 a lot going on in the province right now and I understand that resources are strapped,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut this going to lead to an accident鈥omeone could get seriously hurt.鈥�
Coyne said calls from his office to MOTI on Monday were not returned.
Trying to reduce congestion, the municipality barricaded side streets that feed onto Bridge Street and dispatched the town鈥檚 only bylaw officer to try to bring order to the intersection.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 not our responsibility,鈥� said Coyne. 鈥淭hat is not his job.鈥�
The intersection has long been an issue for Princeton, said Coyne. 鈥淲hen they close highways in other areas and send (traffic) through our little town, on our little roads, they need to be there to help.鈥�
Coyne added the municipality has been lobbying the province 鈥渇or at least 20 years鈥� for improvements to the intersection.
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:andrea.demeer@similkameenspotlight.com
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