A steady stream of locals attended a recent open house on the West Bay Connector Trail as part of the second round of engagement to help shape the final project.
On Saturday, March 8, two consultation sessions were held, with the city hosting the first from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Song Sparrow Hall for input on the proposed trail, a collaboration between the City of Salmon Arm, Neskonlith Band and Adams Lake Band. The final product will be about 6.5 kilometres long starting at the existing wharf boardwalk downtown and end out near Pierre's Point Road (50 Ave. NW). Preliminary public consultation helped get the project to this point where it's starting to be fine-tuned.
"We're getting a lot of really good feedback... a lot of positive feedback today and a good turnout," city capital works supervisor Cory Day said. "We're narrowing it down to final design before detailed design."
A few key highlights emerged through previous public engagement, including having a safe, connected trail where people can get out in nature and improve health and wellness while also gaining cultural education and environmental awareness. This session got into more specifics, such as the preferred surface material of the trail, bridges and boardwalks, features such as viewing platforms, fountains and benches, with additional suggestions also being accepted for consideration.
As the trail will run alongside the CPKC railway, Day said they are fully onboard with the project for the safety reasons alone, as there have been a number of deaths along that stretch as a lot of people walk on the tracks due to a lack of other options.
Since the project started, the stakeholders have received funding for the preliminary design, including $100,000 from the BC Rural Dividend Fund, $150,000 from BC Active Transportation grants and $60,000 in other community contributions. Now, the Shuswap Trail Alliance, with the Adams Lake Band, will be seeking a letter of support from the city for an application for additional funding through the Federal Active Transportation Grant Infrastructure stream, leveraging the $500,000 in the Parks Reserve to help secure that.
