A campaign promise by the BC Conservatives to have a second bridge across Okanagan Lake built and open by 2032 is unrealistic and unnecessary, their political opponents say.听
Theresa国际传媒 little chance such a massive project could be designed and constructed in just eight years and even less evidence it would substantially improve traffic flow in the Central Okanagan, rival candidates say.
鈥淎 second crossing over Okanagan Lake is little more than a flashy campaign promise - and it certainly won鈥檛 be completed by 2032,鈥 West sa国际传媒-Peachland Independent candidate Stephen Johnston said Friday.听
New interchanges along the busy Highway 97 corridor in West sa国际传媒 would do far more to speed traffic flow, Johnston says, along with improvements to at-grade intersections. Hesa国际传媒 also calling for pedestrian overpasses in West sa国际传媒, noting hundreds of students must cross the highway every day going to and from school.听
鈥淲ithout addressing these significant infrastructure gaps first, a second crossing is nothing more than cheap talk and campaign promises,鈥 Johnston said.听
Loyal Wooldridge, the NDP candidate for sa国际传媒 Centre, said promising a second bridge by 2032 is 鈥渇iscally irresponsible, untrustworthy electioneering鈥 by the BC Conservatives.
Recent studies by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure have said the existing bridge won鈥檛 reach capacity until at least 2040, and officials have said the bridge could support the addition of a sixth lane, Wooldridge notes.听
Building a new bridge would cost roughly $3 billion, Wooldridge estimates, based on current costs for similar projects, and involve many years worth of design and negotiation with stakeholders like the Westbank First Nation.听
A second bridge approach in sa国际传媒 would cause enormous disruption to the citysa国际传媒 downtown north end, Wooldridge says. 鈥淐osts and timelines aside, it would create a permanent barrier to Knox Mountain and destroy the livability of the north end and our communitysa国际传媒 prized assets,鈥 Wooldridge said.听
Better ways the provincial government could improve traffic flow and transportation in the Central Okanagan, Wooldridge said, include helping to fund the extension of Clement Avenue from its current terminus at Spall Road out to Highway 33, providing more money for public transit.听
A somewhat less critical response to the second bridge idea was offered by sa国际传媒 Centre Green candidate Bryce Tippe. 鈥淥n its face, I do think a second crossing would be a reasonable commitment, especially if it allows for the highway to divert its traffic away from sa国际传媒,鈥 Tippe said.听
鈥淏ut the real question is, how in the world would the BC Conservatives pay for this?鈥 Tiippe said. The BC Conservatives are already promising significant tax cuts, Tippe notes, and the NDP has saddled the province with a deficit of $9 billion and a total debt approaching $100 billion.听
鈥淚n an ideal world, we could have both low taxes and high spendings but we don鈥檛 live in a fantasy land,鈥 Trippe said. 鈥淭he question we need to ask ourselves is whether we want leaders who make promises they can鈥檛 afford to keep or ones who are willing to make tough, responsible decisions for the long-term health of our province.鈥
Michael Humer, an Independent candidate running in sa国际传媒 Centre says a better approach to improving traffic would be widening the existing bridge, improving public transit, and making road improvements throughout the greater sa国际传媒 area.听
The second bridge pledge within eight years is 鈥渇lashy鈥 but unrealistic, Humer said, and he also accuses the NDP of 鈥渆ffectively ignoring鈥 sa国际传媒 since winning power in 2017.
鈥淔rom listening to people in the sa国际传媒 Centre riding, they are tired of politicians making grand election promises with unrealistic timelines or ignoring the community completely,鈥 Humer said.听
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