It may be another year before a campaign commitment around bringing a truck stop to Salmon Arm gets into gear.
While running for mayor in 2018, part of Alan Harrison’s platform was to appoint a Mayor’s Task Force that would be asked to do do the following: Recommend a bypass route for commercial traffic away from downtown; recommend calming measures to present highway traffic, to increase pedestrian and vehicle safety and; recommend a site for a truck stop/tourist information/RV pull out along the highway, within city limits.
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The task force has yet to be established but Harrison remains committed to it and its goals, including a truck stop/RV pullout/information centre concept.
“The mayor’s task force, my intention originally was to set it up this spring, but I’m going to wait because there’s some other things that need to fall into place before I move on that,” said Harrison. “It may not happen until next spring I’m thinking.”
One of those “other things” is the ongoing Salmon Arm West project that includes a widening of Highway 1 on the city’s west and as well as the construction of a Salmon River Bridge replacement.
“It’s a bit awkward right now… to talk about truck stop location,” said Harrison, noting the province is currently in discussions with the neighbouring Adams Lake and Neskonlith bands about the highway project.
“I know those are at draft stages now… so I think it would be premature to try to move forward without that happening first,” said Harrison.
When a task force is established and discussions around a possible truck stop location get underway, Harrison said both the Adams Lake and Neskonlith bands will be invited to be partners, with the tourism information component envisioned to offer an Indigenous cultural experience.