Turtle trouble: West Kelowna drivers reminded to go slow for shelled neighbours

West Kelowna residents are being asked to slow down when they’re driving through a neighbourhood with some of the valley’s pokiest residents.

Rose Valley has long been home to the painted turtle and, for the most part, the species has lived alongside its human neighbours with relative ease.

Turtle trouble tends to arise this time of year, however, when the shelled creatures migrate across Westlake Road on their way to breeding grounds mapped out in their DNA and are run over. With their shells smashed, many don’t survive long enough to fulfill their biological imperative.

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Rob Hillis, the city of West Kelowna’s manager of engineering, said work to make the migration more successful has taken place in recent years and, anecdotally, there seems to have been a positive effect.

But it’s still incumbent on human neighbours to be mindful of the creatures crossing roads, engaged in laying eggs or hatching babies. This is something that many new residents may not know about, Hillis said.

“The season where they are most at risk is May to July, and this year a lot of our focus is getting awareness to that,” Hillis said.

Hillis said signs warn people that from May to July the speed limit is 30 km/h on Westlake Road and digital display boards will soon be out reinforcing that message.

Hopefully, he added, the turtles will be more inclined to use the tunnel that was first laid out for them in 2014.

Despite the underpass being built at that time, turtles continued to cross the road and were regularly run over. So much so, that in 2020 the city hired a consultant to do a review and with the help of the camera installed it confirmed that there were no turtles taking the tunnel.

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In 2021 and 2022, Hillis said there were items put in place to change the trutles’ path.

Hillis said to help lead them to the safe crossing, rocks, riprap, larger debris and more rocks were strategically placed.

It’s not a perfect solution, Hillis said.

“But, anecdotally, we’ve had fewer complaints and concerns and fewer mortalities on roadways,” he said. “It isn’t perfect, (there’s) still risk.”

Two driveways that extend to three properties and a few homes are where they are most at risk, Hillis said.

According to the Ministry of Environment, the painted turtle requires wetlands, ponds or similar small bodies of water for hiding and foraging, adjacent to upland areas with dry, light-textured soils for nesting.

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“Unfortunately, within its limited British Columbia range, the painted turtle is threatened by alteration or destruction of this important habitat,” the government website said.

“Wetlands and ponds are drained, filled and modified to meet human needs. Landowners can assist the continued survival of British Columbia’s only native freshwater turtle by taking care to avoid disturbing turtles and protecting known breeding locations on their property.”

Up to 90 per cent of all turtle nests are lost to predators. Of those that make it out of the nest, only one in five will survive to adulthood.

If they do survive, a painted turtle can live 20 to 30 years and grow to be the size of a dinner plate.