Vernon Information Centre's new home

by Carmen Weld - Central Okanagan - CASTANET Nov 13, 2013 / 12:04 pm

Highway Going South Tourist Centre Left Turn Lane to 39 Ave.

The City of Vernon is combining their two current Visitor Information Tourist Centres into one new centralized building, effective Spring 2014. The City currently operates two visitor information centres at the south and north ends of the city, with the new building planned somewhere in the middle. One of the strategic goals of the 2010-2015 Vernon Tourism Development Plan was to centralize the two centres in order to achieve savings in operational and maintenance costs and to better meet the needs of tourists; according to the city this will achieve that. City Council, with the support of the Tourism Advisory Committee, has determined that the new Visitor Information Centre will be located on the Civic Arena block, in the building at 3004, 39 Avenue. Both the building and surrounding site will be upgraded over the winter to provide a welcoming Visitor Information Centre with paved parking for visitors and recreational vehicles. The city claims the site has “excellent access from both Highway 97 and 27 Street, and the proximity to the sani-dump is expected to be well received by our visitors travelling with recreational vehicles. But not everyone agrees, Vernon City Councillor Bob Spiers opposes the city’s decision, the one councilor to vote against the change. “The location will cause problems,” argued Spiers. “Try and make a left-hand turn off a major highway.” The intersection of Highway 97 and 39th Avenue does not currently have a designated left-turn signal so Spiers believes southbound tourists will either back up traffic or take chances to turn across. The city argued back saying a lot of thought was put into this decision. “We went through a real exhaustive site search,” said Kevin Poole, economic development manager. In a press release the city says the proximity to the downtown is one of the key benefits of the site. Visitors will find the downtown easy to access, particularly with the ultimate completion of the street corridor and multi use path. Another benefit of the property is that it’s already owned by the city. The city also says the closure of the current north and south visitor centres will save the city $60,000 to $70,000 a year, with that saved money going to marketing Vernon as a tourist destination.