The controversial western bypass has hit a roadblock at Vernon city hall. A motion to protect the highway corridor in the 25-plus-year transportation plan ended in a three-three vote Monday at city council, meaning it was defeated. The issue will return to council in two weeks after the city finds out if the Transportation Ministry has any interest in funding the project at some point. Councillor Patrick Nicol was among the three against protecting the route, over concerns about the impact on neighborhoods. "I think there's other options that make just as much sense and cost a whole lot less money and can actually function a lot better. "You preserve critical neighborhoods, Mission Hill and Okanagan Landing, and overall, the public that attended those (input) hearings, voted against it, so if these hearings are going to have any kind of substance to them, you have to respect that."
Councillor Pat Cochrane and Mayor Wayne Lippert were also against protecting the corridor. Councillors Barry Beardsell, Jack Gilroy and Juliette Cunningham were in favour.Councillor Buffy Baumbrough was not at Monday's meeting. Council spent close to two hours on the plan, including hearing staff's report and then debating it. Several councillors, including Gilroy, called it the toughest decision they've had to make on council the last three years.
Meantime, council unanimously endorsed the other two parts of the plan covering the next 25 years. Those call for more public transit, sidewalks and cycling lanes, along with extending 27-th Street through Polson Park. The transit plan is to increase the city's yearly investment to $500,000 for the next ten years which would add a bus a year and increase the service. Sidewalk installation spending will increase from the current $100,000 to $400,000 a year, allowing for the addition of 34 kilometers of sidewalk the next 20 to 30 years. Bike and trail network spending will each rise from $100,000 to $200,000 annually, with ten trails added and 52 km of bike lanes.
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