New lane at landfill aims to improve traffic flow

May 8, 2020 | 1:00 PM

The Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) has come up with a way to reduce the lineups at the Greater Vernon landfill.

As part of the recent entrance upgrade at the diversion and disposal facility on Birnie Road, a second entrance lane was added just for approved commercial haulers.

Mike Fox, general manager of community services at RDNO, said the change will take effect May 14.

“The main benefit of the new lane is that commercial waste haulers that have been approved for the program will not have to go through the regular public lanes,” Fox said. “This will reduce traffic in the main lane and is expected to help both commercial and residential customers access the site more quickly.”

To guide the new program, RDNO adopted the Greater Vernon Diversion and Disposal Facility – Authorized Commercial Vehicle Lane Access Policy. The eligibility criteria for access to the new lane is outlined in the policy and includes:

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1. Waste hauling must be the primary business activity of the company.

2. The company must have an RDNO Diversion and Disposal Facility credit account, and the account must be in good standing.

3. The company must charge a minimum of $50,000 in diversion and disposal fees at RDNO Diversion and Disposal Facilities annually.

4. Vehicles of eligible companies must display an ACV decal on the driver side door or window.

The authorized commercial vehicle lane will be available from Monday to Friday during summer hours only and will be closed during winter hours.

A single inbound lane will be used when the authorized commercial vehicle lane is closed to minimize customer confusion and to prevent queue jumping.

Inbound traffic will be controlled by traffic lights operated by the scale attendant. When an authorized commercial vehicle arrives, it will be given preferential access to the scale ahead of other customers.

“Commercial vehicle transactions are generally completed very quickly and are high dollar value,” an RDNO news release said.

by Pete McIntyre

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