The traffic safety and community planning impact of Highway 97 in Peachland will continue to be a constant point of debate, but thatsa国际传媒檚 not necessarily a bad thing, says the president of the Highway 97 Task Force Society.

Gus Richardson said his reaction was one of disappointment when regional Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure officials revealed to Peachland council last week the decision to delay further planning on a long-term solution to the Highway 97 upgrade options for 20 years.

sa国际传媒淭his issue has been worked on going back to the 1980s and we still donsa国际传媒檛 have some kind of plan move forward,sa国际传媒� Richardson said.

sa国际传媒淥n the other hand, we werensa国际传媒檛 happy with the long-term options suggested by the ministry so itsa国际传媒檚 not without some degree of relief we have another 20 years to hopefully make our influence be heard.sa国际传媒�

Richardson said the society believes a majority of Peachlanders want a bypass route alternative pursued, so the idea of four-lane improvements to the existing Highway 97 route through the heart of the community as a suggested option was not well received.

sa国际传媒淲e feel (the bypass) is the best thing for Peachland from our communitysa国际传媒檚 perspective. Other communities that have had bypasses done have flourished, and we would hope the same for our community. It would help make Peachland more of a destination point rather than a place people drive past on their way to somewhere else.sa国际传媒�

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Ted Cave, who for a time was involved with the task force, said most residents realize a long-term solution would be costly and take potentially years to assemble, but what he was hoping for from the ministry was a decision on that route option.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 a planning thing. Nobody knows what to expect. If you are planning a housing project near the current highway, and how many other development options, you are hesitant to go forward-thinking in 20 years there might be four-lane highway traffic roaring past a given project,sa国际传媒� Cave said.

Cave called the ongoing studies and community surveys a sa国际传媒渃olossal waste of moneysa国际传媒� since they havensa国际传媒檛 arrived at any conclusions.

sa国际传媒淲e have spent several million dollars over the years to get back to the same point we started with,sa国际传媒� he said.

Cave said he has learned a lot from talking with highways engineers and staff about Highway 97 upgrade options and understanding traffic flows.

sa国际传媒淏ut I am less appreciative of how the public relations side of this has been handled over the years,sa国际传媒� he added.

The ministry is currently in the midst of unveiling a major online public communication initiative to generate feedback on Highway 97 suggested short- and long-term options.

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A public engagement was launched Aug. 12 and will continue until Sept. 4.

Because of COVID-19 public health issues, the ministry is unable to hold public forums on the Peachland Transportation Study. Comments or more information can be obtained from the study project team by emailing peachland97study@gov.bc.ca.

The presentation to Peachland council last Tuesday (Aug. 11) was greeted with disappointment by Mayor Cindy Fortin and the councillors.

Fortin called the decision sa国际传媒渁 tough one to swallowsa国际传媒� given the work already done in the planning process combined with the importance of upgrading the Highway 97 corridor to Peachlandsa国际传媒檚 future economic development.

Steve Sirett, regional highways manager, told council the long-term solution delay was based on current traffic volumes along with several short- and medium-term intersection improvements to improve the safety of highway intersections in Peachland.

He noted in particular approval for the design process to proceed for upgrading the Trepanier Bench Road intersection, which will lead to a likely project cost estimate within about a year, to be followed by seeking provincial funding.

sa国际传媒淭repanier Road is a prioritysa国际传媒�we heard that loud and clear. Approval for the design process to make that project tender-ready will lead to another step of getting funding approval, but it is a good step forward,sa国际传媒� Sirett said.

But councillors were unhappy about what they feel are short-term fixes to traffic congestion and safety problem posed by Highway 97 traffic through the district that requires a longer-term alternative.

sa国际传媒淚 am very disappointed to hear we are not coming out of this with a definitive (long-term) recommendation,sa国际传媒� said Coun. Keith Fielding. sa国际传媒淚t paralyzes our capacity as a community to plan ahead going forward.sa国际传媒�

Coun. Mike Kent said the decision will have a profound negative impact on Peachlandsa国际传媒檚 ability to plan future economic development.

sa国际传媒淎s a council member, I feel that deferring this decision another 20 years is not acceptable,sa国际传媒� Kent said.

sa国际传媒淲e will be hamstrung when it comes to developmentsa国际传媒�I think the importance of this is not being communicated effectively to those in the decision-making process.sa国际传媒�

Sirett said planning decisions can proceed based on the current status of the highway, as many changes could impact what is required for Highway 97 upgrades 20 years from now.

sa国际传媒淚t is a challenge and I appreciate that, but our decision is based on traffic volume elements, and what issues we are looking at 20 years from now may be different than what we think about now,sa国际传媒� he added.

sa国际传媒淧art of that is how the community redevelops over those next 20 years. It could be we have to look at this a lot sooner than 20 years depending on how the community changes and grows.sa国际传媒�

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