Our group continues to find it perplexing mayor and council continue to support the Main Street Bridge option given the two MoTI engagement survey results and 636 signatures from local residents and homeowners who are not in favour.
Makes one wonder if there are other unknown economic factors driving this issue as one would think anyone running for re-election this fall would be paying particular attention to their constituents’ wants. It would be an interesting question to ask the mayor and individual councillors for their position on this matter. My sense is there may be some dissension on this issue we may not know about.
The docks at Main St. Landing are the preferred docking system for those who have homes and cottages on the lake and is the gateway to our community for those who travel by water to shop and access services in Sicamous. In turn, Main Street Park is not only well utilized by the locals but is also the main tourist attraction for those out and about in Sicamous and especially on Main Street where the main business’ reside. The foot traffic volume is constant in the spring, summer and fall months and the park is also well used by the community for winter events.
Kelowna is a successful community and a model for many other communities which are on a waterway. Perhaps mayor and council should be listening and looking to buy more water access instead of building a bridge on it.
The May long weekend was again fairly interesting but similar to other years wherein we witnessed three houseboats hitting the existing bridge structures in the channel as well as the docks in our marina due to the congestion of boat traffic. Hard to imagine what this would look like with a third unneeded crossing in this narrow channel.
The longer I have been involved in this matter the more perplexing it is to me as to why anyone would be in support of a bridge in this area, especially when there is a more viable five-lane bridge option which is not as intrusive, business unfriendly and environmentally sensitive.
- Ken Bateman
@SalmonArm
jim.elliot@saobserver.net
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