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Vandal takes visibility of Salmon Arm speed bumps into own hands

City says once evening frosts subside the bumps will get a fresh coat of white paint
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A spray-can wielding person painted up the two large speed bumps behind Salmon Arm city hall which have shed their white paint making them difficult to see. (Marie Jespersen/Facebook)

After they received a do-it-yourself paint-job overnight, the City of Salmon Arm said the large speed bumps on Okanagan Avenue will be repainted soon to make them easier to spot.

The traffic-calming measures are located between 3rd Street NE and 6th Street NE, immediately behind city hall and the court house. The area is a playground zone as city hall shares a property with Fletcher Park, making the speed limit there 30 km/h between dawn and dusk.

The city’s director of engineering and public works, Rob Niewenhuizen, said the speed bumps were painted white when when they were installed in late fall 2020. Due to cold temperatures, the paint did not adhere to the road properly, causing it to wear off quite quickly. Niewenhuizen said signage with flashers was installed to make the bumps more visible.

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In a tongue-in-cheek effort to do something immediately for the visibility of the bumps, someone marked them with what appeared to be a can of day-glo orange spray paint. One bump is emblazoned with a smiley face and the other has the words “you’re welcome” scrawled across it.

Niewenhuizen said the speed bumps are one of the city’s first priority locations for fresh road markings, but it will still have to wait until the evening frost subsides. Once the weather warms up a bit more, the city will be able to apply fresh road paint.



jim.elliot@saobserver.net

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Jim Elliot

About the Author: Jim Elliot

I’m a B.C. transplant here in Whitehorse at The News telling stories about the Yukon's people, environment, and culture.
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