Politician gearing for road renos

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star - June 24, 2008

A veteran Vernon politician warns that heavy truck traffic may be yanked off a critical roadway if the provincial government doesn’t start pumping funds into highways. Coun. Barry Beardsell will bring forward a motion July 14 advising the Ministry of Highways that truck traffic is not allowed on 27th Street because of what he deems to be insufficient highway improvements. “We all know how bad 32nd Street is,” he said of Highway 97, which goes right through the community. Beardsell believes the city would be justified in closing 27th Street off to large trucks because it is a local road and yet it is used as a link between Highway 97 and Highway 6. “We are doing them (government) a favour by the amount of traffic we allow on 27th Street,” he said, adding that 27th Street used to be a provincial responsibility. “They downloaded it on to us and we pick up the tab.” Beardsell admits that such a move on 27th Street could force trucks on to 32nd Street, adding to congestion there. “We have to push everything into total gridlock to bring them to the table,” he said of the provincial government. The fate of Beardsell’s motion will be in the hands of council, and some of his colleagues are already opposed. “Attacking government is not the way to get the money we need,” said Coun. Jack Gilroy. “The bottleneck we would cause — the truck traffic (on 32nd Street) would be insanity.”

Beardsell’s threat is being dismissed by Tom Christensen, Okanagan Vernon MLA. “Councillor Beardsell doesn’t miss an opportunity to take a swing at government. But we’ve invested well in highways around Vernon,” said Christensen, referring to upgrades to Highway 97 at Swan Lake and to Highway 6 in Coldstream. Christensen believes the focus for both the provincial government and the city should be on ways to improve traffic flow. “If the city wants to talk about that, I’m all ears,” he said.
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Barry keeps on truckin' Morning Star Editorial June 24

You can always count on Barry Beardsell to stir the pot. The veteran Vernon councillor will bring forth a motion at the next regular meeting of council on July 14, advising the Ministry of Highways that truck traffic will not be allowed on 27th Street because of what he believes are insufficient highway improvements. So, theoretically, any truck approaching Vernon from the north would stay on Highway 97 over the Swan Lake overpass and stay on the road that becomes 32nd Street while heading south. They would not be allowed to take the 27th Street exit. That also means any truck coming into town from the north and heading east to Lumby would have to turn left at 25th Avenue to hook up with Highway 6. Any truck approaching the city from the south would not be allowed to turn at 25th Avenue and head two blocks east to venture out of town. They would stay on 32nd going right the heart of the city, the way many do now. Beardsell points out that 27th Street used to be a provincial responsibility until its maintenance and such was downloaded on the city. He also admits such a move, ie, restricting 27th Street truck traffic, would add to the congestion on 32nd Street. It's a move he's willing to make if it gets the government to the table. Naturally, Beardsell's motion has drawn opposition from his colleagues, notably Coun. Jack Gilroy, who said attacking government is not the way to get the money the city needs. He also pointed out that truck traffic on 32nd Street would be "insanity." While there's no question Beardsell's motion is merely a negotiating ploy, at least he's initiated a starting point. After all, now that the Western bypass corridor issue has been terminated, this motion gets the proverbial ball rolling.