Vernon's Polson Greenway hits a road block

 By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star Published: May 13, 2013 4:00 PM
A contentious road project has hit a speed bump in Vernon. City council decided Monday not to construct the Polson Greenway on 29th and 30th streets this year because tender pricing is higher than the budget. "We need to send industry the message that we will not build projects at any cost," said Will Pearce, chief administrative officer. "We will build projects at reasonable costs." The project between 41st and 43rd avenues has an approved budget of $1 million. However, nine tender packages were received and based on those, the price climbed to $1.5 million. The Polson Greenway, which is supposed to become a north-south commuter route, could proceed in 2014 but it will all depend on finances next year.Mayor Rob Sawatzky believes the project will eventually proceed. "It's a high priority because of the state of the sewer (infrastructure)," he said. "We have will to deal with it at some point."