kamloopsthisweek.com | kamloopsthisweek |
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2021 | Volume 34 No. 3
kamthisweek
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DEATH REPORTED AT CARE HOME
TRAVEL BAN MULLED IN B.C.
TRAINING ON OUTDOOR ICE
A resident has died at Brocklehurst Gemstone Care Centre
Local tourism industry reacts to premier’s comments
Former NHLer helps players during the COVID-19 pandemic
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A19
A30
WHO PAYS WHEN POTHOLES STRIKE? LOCAL CRATERS MIGHT BE MORE THAN JUST A BUMP IN THE ROAD JESSICA WALLACE STAFF REPORTER jessica@kamloopsthisweek.com
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amela Gregor was recently driving down Hillside Drive in her brand new Toyota Corolla when she hit a pothole and blew her tire. The incident resulted in more than $800 in damage and, to her surprise, it was deemed her fault by ICBC. “I said, ‘I’m not! I didn’t see that pothole. It was full of water. How could you put the blame on me?’” Gregor told KTW. “They said, ‘Well, you can’t blame anybody else.’”
Two recent pothole-damage cases are raising questions about who is responsible and who should pay when vehicular damage occurs as a result of the pavement pockmarks, long the ire of Kamloops residents. After Gregor’s pothole mishap — which occurred on Jan. 2 and caused damage to not only her car’s tire, but also the rim and required her vehicle to have a wheel alignment — Gregor made her first call to the city. She said the city referred her to ICBC, which informed her it was her fault. Gregor said she was surprised to learn she was at fault because the pothole was not only dif-
ficult to see, but it was also impossible to miss or swerve around, due to its size and the area in which it was located. The lane to her left was filled with traffic and there was no room to pull over on her right. Mark Bell hit a pothole in the same area on the same day, but at nighttime. Like Gregor, he said he did not see the pothole — but for a different reason. “The street lights aren’t on that side of the road,” Bell said. “They’re on the other side of the road. That’s where the sidewalk is. So, you don’t see going down the hill. It was quite dark and it was right in line with the driver-side tire and, at the time
you realize it, you can’t swerve and you can potentially hurt somebody and it’s icy. I just hit it dead on.” Bell was waiting for the total cost of damage to his vehicle when he spoke to KTW. As an added headache, he went without a vehicle for some time as he awaited repairs to be completed on his vehicle. City of Kamloops streets manager Glen Farrow said when damage occurs to a vehicle as a result of a pothole, it is generally on the backs of drivers. In Canada, he said, temperatures rise and fall, resulting in freezing and thawing that causes potholes.
Bell, however, argued he pays for road maintenance through property taxes. Hillside Drive is a city roadway. The city’s risk manager, Terry Pile, said the issue comes down to proving negligence. “The city would have to have, say, been informed of a pothole and just did nothing about it,” Pile said when asked of a situation when the city would be liable. He said the city repairs potholes when they are reported by the public, while crews also proactively seek out areas that need repair. See CITY PAID, A22
Electric vehicle charging station
40%OVER PRE SOL -LE D/ ASE D Bike parking & shower/ change room
10 years reduced property taxes
Underground parking for purchase or lease
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