Thursday’s open house on Stickle Road certainly drew a crowd.
Numerous residents looked at the latest proposal for the Highway 97 intersection, while Ministry of Transportation staff were in abundance and a couple of local elected officials were even present.
However, there was one noticeable absence — Vernon-Monashee’s MLA.
“I’m disappointed Eric (Foster) wasn’t here,” said resident Will Rogers.
Obviously the life of an MLA is busy and they can’t be everywhere, but Foster should have been at this session, particularly given the fact that plans for the intersection have been contentious.
The ministry has burned through considerable resources redeveloping the plans three times now, and yet many residents, and particularly Stickle Road businesses, aren’t satisfied. They insist that the only safe option for accessing the highway is a traffic signal.
Foster has indicated in the media that he supports the ministry’s latest proposal, and if that is the case, he should go before the public to state his case, and more importantly, hear directly from his constituents.
There is a growing perception that the government will ultimately do what ever it wants along Stickle Road no matter what residents and businesses say.
And that perception is certainly reinforced when the MLA for the area doesn’t make time to meet face-to-face with those impacted at a public meeting.