MLA Says Stickle Plan Not Changing

Posted on 8/15/2016 9:37 AM by Pete McIntyre 107.5 KISFM
Vernon's MLA suggests the ongoing opposition to the Stickle Road plan may be politically motivated. The issue continues to generate a number of letters to the local paper, with most criticizing Eric Foster and calling for a traffic light. Foster says his office has been contacting many of the writers of those letter. "They haven't seen the plan. They haven't been out to the meetings, most of them. I don't know. We've invited a lot of the folks down to our office to take a look at the plan where the traffic routes are going to go, and they don't seem interested." Foster is sure it will be an election issue, leading up to next May. "There was an article in the paper the other day, saying we don't listen and they commented on the mayor not supporting the people and what the community wants. In fact, he was very outspoken about it. This is a good alternative. It addresses all the safety issues and the traffic flow." Foster says the province's third plan for Stickle Road to not allow left turns onto the highway at Stickle and extended 20th Street for a one way route into Vernon, won't be going back for another review. "We're moving forward with it unless something, the engineering people, come up with some reason we can't. It's got to go forward. We are not going to put a traffic light on the highway." Foster says the engineering and traffic counts on that highway don't support a light. "It's like 24,000 (vehicles) a day, so 12,000 each way. They don't want a traffic light," Foster tells Kiss FM.