Earlier this month, the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities (TRAN) held meetings in Ottawa to discuss the pending purchase of made-in-China BC Ferries that will be financed by the Canada Infrastructure Bank.

I will talk more about these meetings in a future report however one fact that did come out was the vital role that BC Ferries provides in connecting communities. Citizens often depend upon BC Ferries for transportation to much needed medical services, workers (including first responders) depending on the ferry to get to their jobs and back home after.  Of course, ensuring supply chains for local economies remain reliable is also another important concern.

In short, many who live in coastal, island communities depend upon BC Ferries. I raise these points because here in the Okanagan region much of the very same can be said for Highway 97 that connects the South Okanagan to the Central Okanagan.

Anyone locally who depends upon Highway 97 knows full well of the serious challenges that are created when the highway is shut down due to an accident, forest fire, rockslide or other unexpected event. Often this leads to the 201 Forest service road (FSR) being called upon to be a detour, however the route is often also dangerous as the general state of this service road is not always sufficient for general public use.

What if we could change that? As some will know when the Highway 97 upgrade project between Summerland and Peachland was announced and carried out, it was a jointly funded project with both the Federal and Provincial government equally sharing the costs of this project.

Due to the most recent landslide, the highway has been reduced to single lane traffic in either direction. Recently the Provincial government announced a $23.2 million dollar tender has been awarded to stabilize the slide zone and restore full four lane highway access. 

Missing here is any financial involvement from the federal government who was the original partner when this project first occurred. As the Opposition Transportation critic, I am calling on the Federal government to continue to honour their partnership in this section of highway and provide an $11.6 million dollar share in federal funding to this important project.

In turn this would free up $11.6 million in provincial funding currently committed to this project that in my view and the view of other community leaders should be invested entirely on road improvements to the current 201 FSR.

These much-needed improvements to the 201 FSR would ensure we are less reliant on Hwy 97 and an upgraded 201 would create more resiliency in our Okanagan transportation network. These are principles that align with the current stated goals of our Prime Minister and the federal government. 

An upgraded 201 FSR can provide a more reliable alternative route that better serves the public from the road in its current state. We must not overlook that when Highway 97 becomes blocked life saving emergency services for south Okanagan residents must still be accessed in the central Okanagan. The need for an upgraded alternative route is critically important.

There are obviously other transportation and infrastructure challenges that require attention in our region however it is also important that we start to make progress, and I believe the status quo is not acceptable.

My question this week:  Would you support an upgraded 201 forest service road and the involvement of our federal government to help ensure this happens?

Join the lively discussion on my Facebook page or you can reach me directly at [email protected] or call toll-free at 1-800-665-8711.