Efforts made to curb collisions with wildlife

John Hannah says he has had to stop going up to Glenrosa Road to put suffering deer out of their misery because he can’t handle the highly emotional task any longer.

The deer, which have been hit by passing vehicles on the busy road, often lie injured, close to death but still alive, after a collision.

Hannah, who lives just below Glenrosa Road, has repeatedly called for government to make improvements on Glenrosa, between McIver and Webber Roads, over the last three years after routinely seeing the gruesome effects of the collisions with wildlife.

Almost every time, he would go up to the road, drag the dead deer to the gravel shoulder and call the Ministry of Transportation to come and pick up the carcasses.

However, that all ended in the early spring of 2008, when one incident in particular upset Hannah to the point that he could no longer deal directly with the problem.

“The deer’s back legs and hips were broken. It was trying to drag itself off the road,” recalled Hannah. “I had to end its suffering.”

Hannah finished dragging the deer off the road and got it to a nearby ditch. Unable to discharge his hunting rifle in a residential area, he had to use a two-by-four. With one swift blow, he put the animal out of its misery.

“I couldn’t go up to Glenrosa Road anymore after that. It was just too difficult.”

Up to that point, Hannah had been trying numerous ways to get motorists to slow down and watch for deer.

One attempt was a sign that kept track of the death count.

It read, “Deer 8, motorists 0,” by the time Hannah decided to make the sign that year.

The number climbed to more than a dozen over the following few weeks.

Aside from the sign, Hannah asked the municipality to improve lighting, buy wildlife reflectors, add signage or do anything to reduce the number of accidents.

This past winter, Hannah said he heard as many as 20 deer were killed because motorists refused to slow down and heed the two small Ministry of Transportation signs in the area, warning of wildlife crossings.

However, Hannah is hopeful this winter will be different because the District of West Kelowna has finally committed to mitigation efforts, installing improved signage, with flashing lights, and adding street lighting to the problem section of Glenrosa Road.

“They’ve spent a lot of money. Let’s hope people slow down now and nobody gets killed. One day someone will get killed if people don’t slow down. They speed like hell along there.”

While the speed limit is 60, dropping to 50 along the section in question, those motorists travelling at the posted limit can quickly find themselves being tailgated, said Hannah.

“I wouldn’t want to say how fast they’re going. I’ve been going up there, travelling the speed limit, which is 60 and cuts down to 50, and I won’t see anyone for a quarter of a mile. And then, all of sudden, I look behind and someone is right on my ass.”

Speaking to the improvements, Hannah praised the District of West Kelowna, saying November is a perfect time to introduce the mitigation measures in the problem area.

Collisions involving motor vehicles and wildlife are worst at night, from December through February, he explained.

The animals make their way from winter range above Glenrosa Road, to vegetation and water in the more sheltered Powers Creek area below.

They will also venture into yards where they eat ivy and buds off cedars, Hannah said.

Mayor Doug Findlater said the improvements cost about $44,000, $16,000 less than what council approved in its budget in the spring.

“In addition to the improved lighting, there will be two very large signs that say “Deer Crossing. You can’t miss them.

“The street lighting was added to a dark spot on Glenrosa Road, between the middle school and Webber Road, where most of the deer kill was,” the mayor said.

Findlater, a Glenrosa resident himself, said he’s pleased to see the work completed.

“There was a time there when I was getting four or five complaints a week about deer being killed and people asking when we were going to do something about it.

“People get very upset when the see a deer hit and killed or when it’s hit and not killed for that matter, and rightly so.”

jluciw@kelownacapnews.com

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