Local politicians and regional district representatives gather at the KVR trail to celebrate a funding announcement to expand the trail between Oliver and Osoyoos. But some farmers aren’t impressed with the move.
Photo by Richard McGuire
Earlier this month, a group of about 20 people gathered along a back road in Oliver. Most were farmers and, more importantly, most owned property next to the abandoned bed of the Kettle Valley Railway.
A white truck pulled up, and two employees of the Regional District of the Okanagan Similkameen hopped out.
An unidentified man filmed the scene, narrating as the RDOS reps approached the group.
“Just arriving; boneheads from the RDOS,” the cameraman says. “I don’t know who these two fellas are, but I’d probably put their IQ at a thimble.”
One of the RDOS employees, Justin Shuttleworth, introduced himself to the group, shaking some hands and offering a pleasant, if slightly strained smile.
Not long ago the RDOS had sent letters to most of these people, informing them that it was gathering information as part of its plan to incorporate the old rail bed into a recreational trail connecting the whole region, and asking for their input.
The RDOS had already received a petition, signed by 39 residents primarily from the surrounding rural area (many of whom were at the meeting) expressing their strong opposition to the project.
The proposed trail would largely follow the old rail bed, which butts up against many people’s properties. The petition pointed out many more people would end up walking along their yards and orchards, dramatically increasing incidents of vandalism, trespassing and theft.
It also expressed concerns of local orchardists, who believe increased trail traffic will put their food safety practices in jeopardy.
“It’s just another hassle you have to deal with, and when you’re in the middle of harvest, or you’re really busy, and you have a million things going on and you’re running all over the place you just don’t want any more headaches than you already have,”explained David Machial, the orchardist who submitted the petition.
But Machial said what really bothers most people is the fact that a very similar trail already exists that follows almost the exact same route as the proposed KVR trail.
He pointed out that the local hike and bike path touches the proposed KVR trail in many places, and is only a few hundred metres away at its longest distance.
“Here your local government is talking about building something that will have a negative impact on a lot of people, and there’s already a trail. It already exists. Why are they doing that?” he said.
“Really you’re going to build another hike and bike trail right beside it? That’s what you’re going to do with money? Aren’t there other projects?”
The roadside meeting was a chance for the RDOS to collect more public feedback and provide a few answers to local landowners. Shuttleworth had to talk over heckles and sarcastic chuckles as he answered questions from the crowd.
A few people who asked questions raised their voices considerably. Some resorted to insults.
“You’re stupid, sir. You’re f–ing stupid. You are, you’re wasting our time. And we’re fed up!” one man shouted, accusing Shuttleworth and the RDOS of “bullying” local landowners.
According to Machial, the anger amongst local landowners stems in large part from a feeling that the RDOS wasn’t listening to their concerns.
He said that, after receiving the letters from the RDOS, people began asking for a public meeting to publicly voice their concerns. While the RDOS was meeting on an individual basis with affected landowners, Machial said its representatives initially dismissed the idea of a public meeting.
“It comes down to whether or not people feel they had the opportunity to be heard properly,” Machial said, pointing out that many felt the RDOS’s initial refusal to hold a public meeting was “sneaky.”
A public meeting is publicly recorded, and Machial said one-on-one meetings aren’t subject to the same kind of public oversight and scrutiny that a large public gathering is.
“[This project] comes from a mindset that says get out of our way, we’re going to do it,” said David Evans, another farmer fed up with the RDOS’s plans.
Shuttleworth, the RDOS’s parks and facilities coordinator, disagreed with that assessment.
“If that was true I would say we wouldn’t have done what we’ve done to date, made a point of going out and meeting with everybody. We’re not doing it just for show, we’re doing it because we want to take those considerations in as we enter the planning stage,” he said.
The community’s concerns as expressed in the petition, he said, “may not stop us from doing the project, but the value that we get from it is no different than we get from meeting with everyone one-on-one. We get that input and [those] concerns and then we can look at addressing them.”
A few days ago, the RDOS decided to hold a public meeting to allow residents to express their concerns and give them more information about the KVR trail project.
Shuttleworth said the next step after all the information is collected will be for him to prepare a development plan outlining the best way to connect the different sections of the KVR trail together.
He said while the currently planned route “is the most desired route to go in and we’re going to explore it to its full extent,” nothing is certain and things can change.
By Trevor Nichols
