Drivers need to smarten up on Whoop-Up, say city police
By Lethbridge Herald on August 22, 2025.
Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald
With construction happening on Whoop-Up Drive, delays due to collisions have left westside residents stranded sometimes for hours at a time. Many may be wondering if negative driving behaviour on local roads have any consequences.
The answer is yes, says the Lethbridge Police Service.
Locals have turned to social media to express their frustration about the traffic delays in recent days, with many pointing out specific driving behaviours that are not only frustrating for other drivers but are also potentially dangerous.
Due to construction on the bridge deck and subsequent damage to the bridge girders from an accident earlier this month, multiple lane restrictions have been in place to make sure the areas where motorists are crossing the bridge are safe.
That in turn has resulted in traffic delays, not only caused by the lane closures, but also by negative driving behaviours. Especially around zipper merging.
Westbound Whoop-Up Drive connects to 6 Avenue South, with two lanes going under the Scenic Drive overpass. Both lanes are functional until just before the bridge deck where a zipper merge is needed to allow traffic to utilize the only functional lane on the bridge deck. This is where many of the complaints on social media are rooted. Some motorists have been found to block the left lane of westbound traffic going downhill towards the bridge deck, not allowing others to properly zipper merge onto the middle lane before having to zipper merge onto the right lane.
This also happened Eastbound shortly after the change in lane direction on Wednesday afternoon, with drivers blocking those heading east on the middle lane before having to merge with the right lane to allow westbound traffic onto the middle lane, as the left lane remains closed.
In response to that, Acting Sergeant Mike Dowsley with the Lethbridge Police Service Traffic Response Unit said drivers can in fact be charged.
“If there are no merge signs and the vehicle is preventing another vehicle to get to the front of the merge lane, the driver could be charged with Impeding traffic,” said Dowsley.
He added that if there is a merge sign, which in this case there are two on westbound Whoop-Up Drive, then drivers can be charged with failing to allow a vehicle to merge.
And for those who may think they can get away with it because there is no police presence on Whoop-Up Drive, Dowsley cautioned that camera footage from a dashcam can be used as evidence to charge drivers.
“If the person with the dashcam or photo is willing to provide a statement and attend court, another driver can be charged with an offence,” said Dowsley.
That also applies footage of people stunting, using cell phones, and other traffic offenses.
15-14
‘If the person with the dashcam or photo is willing to provide a statement and attend court, another driver can be charged with an offence,” said Dowsley.’
So you want us to do your job because you failed after years of us complaining to you to enforce the law? You want us to go to court? Do you want us to arrest the people as well when we call you to our business when criminals are committing crimes against us?
Most of us are already tired of calling police downtown, no one showing up for hours and then your never find the person so they never get charged.
I have been stuck in traffic several times trying to get home after work and stuck in a parking lot on Whoop-up Drive because on of the many disrespectful drivers who never are charged for their illegal driving habits has caused an accident.
This isn’t new! The police budget is over $54 million and the chief and deputy chief’s annual pay together are over $500,000, with some inspectors making $200,000 per year, and how many inspectors are there?
We have high paid leaders who have failed to listen to concerns in our city, not just on the road, but downtown. We pay police well to make the right decisions and enforce the laws, and now you want us to be your eyes and ears and the streets and roads.
Are you really asking this? You failed miserably to respond effectively when business owners downtown call for help when their businesses were being damaged, cars broken into, staff intimidated or assaulted and addicts passed out in front or back doorways to a point we don’t bother to call you anymore because it just wastes our time. How many times did you not find the person who committed the crimes or when you did, you did nothing?
Now you want us to do your job on the streets? Are you kidding? You want us to come to sit in court at our own loss in wages and revenues because you have not done your jobs and allowed our streets, neighbourhoods and businesses to be over run with lawless, disrespectful punks who now think they own the city and can do whatever they want.
I have dashcams front and back, but found out if I reported someone that I would have to go to court, taking away time from my business!
Right now I am busy dealing with criminals you call the most vulnerable damaging my business and pushing away customers, because you have allowed them to run free downtown, and do nothing!
You are insane if you think I am going to do your job when I tried to go home at night! I have bought an ebike to get home when the weather looks good and you can bet it is locked up inside my business when I arrive, because if it were locked up outside, they would cut the cable and be gone in hours!
Maybe you should take the gloves off and start doing what you are paid to do! You are a police service not a social service or public relations service!
You allowed this to grow? Did you do it under the guise “every other city has it so we have to” as you did with the people taking over Galt Gardens or sleeping rough or in tents around businesses?
It is time you earned your pay! We pay well for leadership to enforce the laws, yet you think you are there for public relations!
Yes I am angry! I am mad after seeing a failure in policing downtown and now you want us to get involved because you failed in traffic control!
Laws are useless if there are no deterents, whether it is criminals downtown are drivers on the road!
Maybe the city planners who knew over 10 years ago we needed another bridge and the extreme costs, should have stopped putting thousands more over there in the first place! The same planners who have snarled traffic downtown by destroying several roadways and continue to plan for restrict more streets such as 5th! How much are we paying them?
I feel your pain Say What! Luckily in this case, I live downtown, so I do not have to commute across the river. Once the original bridge maintenance is done there could be continuing closures until they get the damage girders repaired.
It would be too late to see any changes in driving behaviors if police were in pulling over drivers during rush hour traffic. That would only make things worse.
Perhaps positioning a marked police vehicle in the middle of the bridge, or some strategic spot with emergency lights on, observing traffic flows would cause some to behave. I have drove millions of miles across North America and whenever drivers saw a police vehicle ahead, they changed their behaviors and put their innocent halos on and pretended to be the perfect little driver who did nothing wrong.
Too many have been allowed to run free and drive wild for years and it will take some time to see change, if they start ticketing the law breakers, but they need to out patrolling daily for this to happen, not have their ‘blitz’s’.
It isn’t just on Whoopup Drive, it is all over the city! I think people will just have to accept the fact we are going to see delays going across the river!