Narrow curve to be widened, smoothed on Westside Road

A particularly dangerous section of notorious Westside Road will be widened and made safer this year.

A sharp and narrow curve in a 1.4-kilometre-long section between Muir Road and the La Casa neighbourhood is to be smoothed out by expanding the right-of-way into Fintry Provincial Park.

Directors of the Central Okanagan regional district were expected this week to approve plans to transfer almost an acre of parkland to the Ministry of Transportation for the road-widening project.

“The .32-hectare removal of lands from Fintry provincial park will facilitate improvements to public safety along Westside Road, eliminating dangerous curves and rock outcrops, and improving visibility and sightlines,” reads part of a regional district report.

Government policy is not to remove land from parks unless there is “overarching evidence” it is in the best interest and safety of the public, the report states.

Between 2003 and 2013, there were 504 vehicle collisions along Westside Road, between Highway 97 in West Kelowna and Barcelona Drive in the North Westside area, according to ICBC. Almost 200 of these crashes involved fatalities or injuries.

In a poll of its members conducted by the BC Automobile Association, Westside Road, with its narrow width, sharp curves and steep drop-offs to Okanagan Lake, has twice been rated as the province’s most dangerous road.

The former Liberal government pledged to spend $45 million over Àve years to make the road safer.