Silver Star Road earns gold so far in worst roads survey

VERNON – A stretch of pavement — or lack thereof — in Vernon is topping the list in BCAA’s worst roads survey.

Voting opened earlier this week, and it didn’t take long for Vernon’s Silver Star Road to climb to first place. The survey is open until May 26, so results could still change gears.

Potholes, crumbling pavement and poor maintenance are among the issues driving people up the wall on Silver Star Road.

The road, which leads locals, tourists, and employees to Silver Star Mountain Resort, was in the news just last week for road related problems. A large dump of snow that left some residents snowed in for hours brought about a flurry of other concerns.

Brad Baker, acting general manager at the resort, says there were problems all winter long with snow removal. Encroaching snowbanks made the road narrow and treacherous for both drivers and pedestrians attempting to negotiate the route.

“Seasonally, we go up to 700 employees and over the Christmas period we’ll see between around 5,500 skiers a day. A good percentage (of) those people are driving up the road,” Baker says.

It’s a busy place in the warmer months as well as a hotspot for hiking and mountain biking. You may not have to worry about snow and ice, but Baker says the pavement is in terrible shape.

“You’re on a full on attempt to avoid potholes and oncoming vehicles that are doing the same,” Baker says.

He’s encouraging people to nominate Silver Star Road in the worst roads survey. Votes can be placed for any road in B.C.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca or call 250-309-5230. To contact the editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.