Premier Christy Clark says she is living up to her election promise by starting the planning for a second bridge over Okanagan Lake.
Clark, who is also the MLA for Westside-Kelowna, has now committed two million dollars to begin the planning process for a second crossing linking Kelowna and West Kelowna.
While Clark says actual construction would still be about a decade away, planning for a project of this magnitude must start now.
Kelowna Mayor Walter Gray says a big part of the planning process will be where exactly the new bridge would be built.
Get breaking National news
“The options are quite limited but I mean I think it is obvious to say unless something comes along in the course of that study that it would be in north end of downtown somewhere in area of sawmills polar point. The bigger mystery I think is where it lands on the other side, “ says Gray.
West Kelowa Mayor Doug Findlater says there will have to be a lot of public consultation before decisions are made on the location of a new structure.
“For West Kelowna it comes down to does this lead to a second corridor? You know this will land somewhere or does that extra traffic go down existing travelled roads in West Kelowna so it has a lot of implications. It could go quite higher in the mountains and all the way around and that is what our friends in Peachland are suggesting that it could bypass communities completely,” says Findlater.
Clark met with local politicians in Kelowna today to start the discussion on a new bridge, one of many more to come.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.