KELOWNA – The back route to UBC Okanagan (UBCO) could soon be a “no go” zone for many students and campus staff. The Curtis Road route is favoured by many because it keeps them off of busy Highway 97. However, it crosses private property and that’s why the courts are being asked to intervene. Now a legal review of UBC Okanagan’s plan has been delayed for at least a week.
Area resident Paul Warnock says he’s not okay with the fact that dozens of UBCO students and staff are using Curtis Road as a shortcut to get to the university.
“The residents built the road, they maintain the road, the residents also carry any liability in regards to the road for insurance purposes and potential litigation,” says Warnock.
Residents like Warnock are in a legal battle against the university, which means students and staff may soon have to find a different route to UBCO. It was back in 2010 that a group of property owners sued the institution, saying cyclists and pedestrians were trespassing on the private easement road. The court ruling allowed some public use of the road but with restrictions–only people who worked and attended class in the two buildings closest to the access road are allowed to use it.
However, residents weren’t satisfied and went back to the courts saying UBCO hasn’t done enough to enforce the restriction. They say the number of users actually increased. UBCO had until Monday to come up with a plan to adhere to the restriction. Bud Mortenson, UBCO Director of University Relations, says the chief justice has deferred the review of that plan until February 23. He says the university’s enforcement plan entails better direct communication with students and staff.
“We’ll be doing more communication directly with cyclists for example and pedestrians at the point of access,” says Mortenson. “We’ve also amplified the kind of wording that we are using. Prior to this weekend, we did not have a ‘no trespassing’ sign on there.”
He says there will also be more security patrols in the area and pamphlets outlining who can and can’t use the road will also be handed out. However, if the judge rejects the plan, Mortenson says all public use of the road will be suspended.
Until Monday’s court review of UBCO’s plan, the same rules apply: limited access for certain people using the road to get to campus. The university says it has been working with the City of Kelowna to find another solution. Mortenson says construction of John Hindle Drive — which will run diagonally through the west campus agricultural lands to Glenmore Road — will begin within a year.
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