Kamloops British Columbia - Crowds leaving hockey games and other events at the Sandman Centre will continue to be guided onto the pedestrian
bridge above Third Avenue as the City of Kamloops, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), and Transport Canada (TC) tackle the pedestrian safety issues on the downtown
railway tracks.
"We are monitoring it for a couple of more games and then see if there are issues at the roundabout with pedestrian safety," the city's chief
administrative officer David Trawin says via email.
"Then we will work with CP and TC to see if there are other options."
During the Kamloops Blazers last home game, as the arena emptied, city bylaw officers were on hand to guide hockey fans onto the pedestrian bridge and away
from the more common route at street level, crossing the railway tracks.
People unable to climb the stairs were allowed to cross at street level with the help of the officers.
Trawin says the bylaw officers were already working and were pulled from other duties to deal with the crowd.
They replaced contract flaggers TC had ordered, which cost the city $850 a day.
Hockey fans weren't alerted prior to the post game exit that there may be a bottleneck and more physical than expected walk ahead, as the Blazers weren't
notified about the change.
As they left, some fans took to social media to express frustration with the situation, and noting that Second Avenue was still an option at street
level.
"Second Avenue has not been a safety concern to TC," Trawin said in the email.
Brendan Kergin.