By Roger Knox - Vernon Morning Star - March 28, 2008
Linda Kennedy grew up in the Okanagan, and, as a child, she remembers vividly having to take a ferry from Okanagan Landing to Kelowna along Okanagan Lake. In her opinion, Kennedy told a crowd of 150 gathered at the Vernon Recreation Complex Tuesday for a public input session on the city’s draft transportation plan, it was during that time that somebody should have built a western bypass. Not now. “I shudder to think that a western bypass is the only alternative in the long run,” said Kennedy, who turns 70 later this year. A bypass on the west side of Okanagan Lake won’t take much of the traffic away now.” A proposed western bypass through the Mission Hill, Okanagan Landing and Bella Vista areas is one option presented by the city in its draft transportation plan, and drew a lot of discussion from the crowd.
George Hudson, who lives on Okanagan Avenue, and was the first of 40 speakers in the nearly three-hour session, told the city to “look east.” “I think the (Okanagan) Landing is a jewel in the crown that is Vernon, but it’s a finite area bordered by a lake,” said Hudson. “And there’s only so much room for abuse. This highway bypass has nothing in it for residents. Maybe it will save two minutes on the way to Kelowna, maybe three minutes on the way to Kamloops. “If there absolutely positively has to be a bypass, I think in the long-term we should look east. It’s wide open and there’s no natural boundaries out that way. I think the city should stop bullying the Landing and spread the misery around.”
A recent survey indicated that 237 respondents wanted a western corridor protection, while 266 were opposed, and 58 per cent preferred other options to the western bypass. One of those options, which garnered a handful of positive responses at the public meeting, is “looking east” by extending 27th and 32nd Streets. “We should keep the city in the city, the country in the country and keep the traffic where it is,” said Simone Runyan, a Coldstream resident.The western bypass did garner support from speakers such as Ingrid Baron, who lives on Mission Hill. “It’s pathetic what goes on on that highway,” said Baron, in reference to the speeding trucks and vehicles on Highway 97 near hospital hill and the army camp. “I’ve lived at my house for the last 19 years and it wasn’t anything like it is today 19 years ago. The western bypass is the most viable option.”
Aaron Kiselback, 39, who said he was saddened by lack of people in attendance from his generation, told the audience he doesn’t know what solution there can be for traffic problems besides the bypass. “What does the city do about the geography of Vernon, when most things are in farm land?” he asked. A great number of speakers were concerned about any option that eliminates green space and agricultural land. A portion of Polson Park would be removed for an extension of 27th and 32nd Streets. And, as Vernon native and long-time Bella Vista Road resident Mas Sakakibara pointed out, the western bypass would require a great deal of land taken out of the Agricultural Land Reserve. “The reserve considers the Bella Vista area to be one of the prime agricultural areas of B.C., and, already, we have a lot of development on Bella Vista Road, a lot of the farmland has disappeared,” he said. “We can’t afford to lose any more farm land.”
Colin Heggie, a fellow Bella Vista resident, and who lives “200 metres from the proposed western bypass,” asked city officials if a plan for compensation is in place to those whose property would be “sterilized over the next couple of decades while waiting for the bypass to happen or not happen.” Lorne Holowachuk, the city’s transportation specialist, said discussions in the past had talked of concessions on taxation for affected residents, or a half-dozen other forms of concession. “But we’re not even close to that level,” Holowachuk told Heggie. A number of speakers want the city to pursue more bus routes, bike paths, Park and Ride and commuting options.
City officials were praised by many speakers for the work and effort they had put into the plans. Holowachuk was thrilled to see so many people turn out to voice their opinions, and give city officials some input into all aspects of the proposed transportation draft plan. “There were a lot of great comments,” he said.City staff will take the information collected from the public input meeting, and incorporate it into the final transportation plan. That will be merged with the official community plan, and the goal is to present a final draft plan to Vernon City Council in time for its May 26 meeting.
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