Enderby city council made sure traffic improvements on Highway 97A were front and centre during a Union of B.C. Municipalities convention meeting Sept. 28, 2016.
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September 29, 2016 - 4:30 PM
ENDERBY - Short and long-term traffic improvements were discussed as Enderby officials met with the provincial government this week.
Enderby Mayor Greg McCune says council spoke to the Ministry of Transportation about traffic issues in the community at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention Wednesday, Sept. 28.
The talk included discussion about short term improvements such as a traffic light at the intersection of Canyon Road and Highway 97A at the Super Save gas station, or possibly a turning lane or some kind of speed control.
“It’s a terribly unsafe intersection,” McCune says. “We need something there and they (Ministry) has acknowledged something has to happen.”
Highway 97A through Enderby sustains heavy vehicle traffic, particularly in the summer tourist season, and longer term solutions to alleviate pressure are also being discussed, McCune says.
“Twinning of the highway would be ideal. We would end up with four lanes of traffic through our community within about a block-and-a-half of each other,” he says.
The most likely configuration, he says, would involve the current highway corridor turning into two lanes of southbound traffic, while two new northbound lanes would be added elsewhere. One possibility is for the new section of highway to follow Old Vernon Road, then onto the decommissioned railway right-of-way, and onto Evergreen Street.
The railroad property is currently owned by the CP Rail, although local municipalities and the Splatsin First Nation are working on acquiring the land.
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News from © iNFOnews, 2016