Every day, residents and business owners across the Central Okanagan lose valuable time—and money—sitting in traffic on Harvey Avenue, the W.R. Bennett Bridge, and Highway 97. 

To: The BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit, and all municipal governments responsible for transportation planning in the Central Okanagan.

The Problem
Traffic congestion in the Central Okanagan isn’t just frustrating — it’s draining our wallets, our health, and our environment. What used to be a quick drive has become a daily battle with gridlock.

The Economic Cost - Traffic jams are strangling our local economy.

Businesses lose money every day as deliveries, service calls, and commutes grind to a halt. A single commercial driver stuck an extra hour each day loses about $2,800 a year in wasted time. Multiply that across hundreds of vehicles, and we’re losing millions annually in productivity and fuel.

Retailers miss deliveries, appointments run late, and customers grow frustrated — costs that ultimately hit every consumer.

The Human Cost
Behind every idling car is a person missing something that matters — a child’s soccer game, a family dinner, or just a few minutes of peace.

Long commutes mean higher stress, fatigue, and burnout. Parents pay more for childcare, students arrive late, and workers lose hours of unpaid time every week. That’s hundreds of hours of lost life every year for thousands of people in our community.

The Environmental Cost
The Okanagan’s beauty is part of who we are — clean air, blue skies, and an outdoor lifestyle we treasure. But every day, thousands of vehicles inching down Harvey Avenue and the Bennett Bridge burn unnecessary fuel, producing more emissions and smog.

This isn’t just unpleasant — it’s a step backward from BC’s climate goals and a threat to the valley’s environment.

Practical Fixes We Can Do Now
We don’t have to wait years or spend millions to make a difference. Some simple, cost-effective changes could start helping right away:

✅ Fix the flow between Abbott Street and Gordon Drive with modern traffic tech and better signal timing.
✅ End the Abbott Street bottleneck by removing left turns onto Abbott and rerouting pedestrians via the underpass or Pandosy Street.
✅ Add a third eastbound lane by removing the median between Abbott and Pandosy.
✅ Create an alternating-direction lane on the W.R. Bennett Bridge — eastbound in the morning, westbound in the evening — to double bridge capacity when it’s needed most.

These are real, doable solutions that would make a difference right now.

 A Better Vision
Imagine a Central Okanagan where traffic flows smoothly. Businesses thrive. Workers get home on time. Families breathe cleaner air. That’s the Okanagan we all want — and it’s within reach if our leaders act.

 A Call for Action
Traffic on Highway 97 is a regional problem that needs a regional solution.

We’re calling on the BC Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, all municipal governments, and the Westbank First Nation to make improvements to Highway 97 and the W.R. Bennett Bridge a top provincial priority.

Every day of delay costs us time, money, fuel, and opportunity. If we want the Okanagan to remain one of BC’s most livable and vibrant regions, we must fix this — together.

Sign the Petition
We, the undersigned, call for immediate action to relieve traffic congestion on Harvey Avenue, the W.R. Bennett Bridge, and Highway 97. Short-term solutions can happen now — while long-term plans continue to develop.

Let’s push for real change — because every hour, every litre of fuel, and every dollar matters to the future of the Okanagan.

✍️ Sign and share this petition to demand action from our leaders.
Together, we can build an Okanagan that moves — for our families, our businesses, and our future.