B.C.’s new NDP government is being urged to scrap a controversial road plan in Vernon.
About 100 people attended Saturday’s Sustainable Environment Network Society rally Saturday against Stickle Road being extended through BX Creek Delta Park.
“Protect this special place,” said Keli Westgate, SENS representative, adding that the new transportation minister, Claire Trevena, needs to take action.
It was the previous Liberal government that approved the plan as a way of improving safety at Stickle Road and Highway 97, but the new NDP government is now responsible for the matter.
SENS insists the road extension will destroy the wetland area, which includes protected species.
Many attending the rally carried signs that stated, “No road here,” “Keep wetlands as is,” and “Save our wetlands, no road expansion.”
Barbara Rawlek Stone, who initiated a petition against the petition, insists there are options to improve safety at Stickle Road and the highway.
“Other solutions, such as a four-lane roundabout, are possible for far less cost. They could also be safer, and preserve the wetland,” she said.
The $9.5 million project calls for a ban on left-turns from Stickle Road on to the highway.
Eric Foster, Liberal MLA for Vernon-Monashee, continues to support the road extension through the park as a way of easing congestion and improving safety at Stickle Road and Highway 97.
“The professionals have said the best and safest plan is the one on the table,” he said in a recent interview.
“I support the professional people in the Ministry of Transportation.”