Concerns for safety along a stretch of Highway 97 between Summerland and Peachland have prompted residents to start asking for change.

Mick Harper posted a Change.org petition calling for the installation of a barrier between lanes yesterday, Jan. 17, and 4,171 have already signed.

“People are being injured and dying on a particular section of Highway 97 between Summerland and Peachland,” Harper said, on the petition.

“In parts, the road is steep, has sharp corners, and the slope of the road in the corners is low on the outside, making it dangerous especially in winter conditions.”

The concern, he wrote, is drivers who go too fast or don't adjust their speed for road conditions often drift into oncoming traffic causing serious harm or death.

“It's time for the Province of BC, Premier Horgan, and the Honourable Claire Trevena, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure to install concrete barriers in between the two directions of traffic. This will hopefully prevent further accidents causing injury or death.”

The province and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure need to install concrete barriers in between the two directions of traffic on Highway 97 north of Summerland and south of Peachland.

"It could save a life — maybe your own or the life of a loved one," he wrote.

One person died Thursday, Jan. 16 following a crash that shut the highway down for several hours while police investigated and debris was cleared.

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