Local MLA John Slater (without jacket) hands over a cheque for $232,000 to Town of Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells Monday afternoon near Osoyoos Secondary School. The funding, from a provincial recreation grant, will allow the town to proceed a long-awaited project to build a sidewalk from the intersection of Hwy. 97 and 62 Avenue up past the high school to streets near Osoyoos Golf and Country Club. Local fitness fan Ted Cronmiller, far left, joined town councillors C.J. Rhodes, Sue McKortoff and Mike Plante for the big announcement. Photo by Keith Lacey
The proposal to build a sidewalk and walking trail from Highway 97 to the subdivision near the Osoyoos Golf and Country Club that has been talked about for years by different incarnations of town council is about to become reality.
Boundary-Similkameen MLA John Slater handed over a cheque for $232,000 to Osoyoos Mayor Stu Wells and members of town council Monday afternoon. The funding will allow for the construction of a full sidewalk from the intersection of 62 Street and Highway 97 up the hill towards Osoyoos Secondary School and to Pebble Beach Drive near Osoyoos Golf and Country Club.
The funding was granted from the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development’s Community Recreation Program to help fund a project to construct a public walkway along Pebble Beach Drive (from Golf Course Road to 115 Street) and along 115 Street (from Pebble Beach Drive to 62 Avenue).
The fact the funding comes in the form of a recreational grant can’t be overlooked as approval of this project recognizes it will benefit so many people looking to walk, bike and hike properly from the town’s West Bench to the downtown core, said the veteran MLA.
“This is a safety issue first and foremost because so many people have been afraid to walk from the golf course area to the downtown core for fear of motor vehicles in this busy section of town,” said Slater following Monday’s cheque presentation.
“But it’s also a health and fitness issue as people will soon be able to walk, bike or hike at their own leisure.”
The Osoyoos Golf and Country Club is one of the town’s most popular and respected amenities and it attracts thousands of visitors each year and being able to spruce up the entire area with the new sidewalk/trail program is only going to bring more tourists to the golf course and to Osoyoos, said Slater.
Because Osoyoos is blessed with terrific weather for eight or nine months of the year, a lot of people would rather walk downtown than use their motor vehicles and completing this project will allow them to do so in a safe manner, said Slater.
Wells said he was thrilled with the funding announcement because it will allow a project that has been discussed dating back well over a decade to finally become a reality.
“This has been on the books for many years and we could never get it done because it was always too expensive and council of the day couldn’t justify spending the money on a one-off project of this size,” said Wells. “I know previous council even looked at splitting it up over two or three years, but it never got approved.”
The funding comes from a provincial recreation grant program offered to small, rural communities with the province picking up roughly 80 per cent of the cost, said Wells.
Homeowners near the golf course pay some of the highest property taxes in the entire town and deserve community improvements like this one and he has no doubt residents in the area will be using the sidewalks and trails in great numbers once construction is completed, said Wells.
Slater did a terrific job working behind the scenes to secure funding for this project and must be commended for working so hard to ensure a project that has been a priority for the town for so many years is about to become a reality, said Wells.
The walkway will improve safety for pedestrians and increase connectivity to the school, residential areas and other areas of town, said Slater.
These grants will encourage healthy living and community engagement for people of all ages and abilities by providing opportunities for recreational activity, said Wells, adding quality recreation infrastructure helps communities attract residents and tourists to communities across B.C.
“It only makes sense to construct pathways to make it easier and safer to walk around the most beautiful town in the province,” said Slater. “Tourists who come to enjoy the view, and residents lucky enough to be here every day, will all enjoy these paths.”
Wells said this project will improve the quality of life for all members of this community.
“Small rural towns in B.C. have such a hard time accumulating funding for this type of project,” he said. “We have had this project on our ‘want list’ many times, but the large expenditure would have depleted this account and the project was usually deferred.
“This grant allows us to undertake the project and safely provide the connectivity between the golf course subdivision and the town. The lower part of the project will also improve the safety of our secondary school students while walking to and from the school.”
Construction will include building a two-metre wide concrete sidewalk complete with curb and gutter along Pebble Beach Drive; three-metre wide paved walkway along 115 Street and street lighting and walkway lighting.
Wells said he’s hoping the tendering process to get started on this project can begin within a couple of weeks, so the winning contractor can be selected as quickly as possible.
He doesn’t know how long the construction phase will take, but he’s also hopeful that with the long construction season in Osoyoos that the project can be completed over the next several months.
Slater said he believes hundreds of people will keep their cars at home and walk or jog along the new sidewalks once the construction project is completed in the coming months.
