Monday's Highway 97/Toop Rd Project Mtg

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

The City of Williams Lake and the Ministry of Transportation held a joint forum Tuesday on the proposed improvements to Highway 97 between Carson Drive and Fox Mountain.

City and Ministry staff gave a history of the development of the project and public consultation efforts to date. Two configurations of the local street connections are currently proposed on the west side of the new signalized intersection to be located at 11th Avenue. Option 1 consists of two connections from the new intersection. Drivers heading west will have the choice of turning onto McKinnon Road or 11th Avenue. Option 2 has connections to McKinnon Road and 11th Avenue, plus another connection to Johnson Street. Attendees at the forum had the opportunity to ask questions of staff.

“We were pleased to have such a good turnout, and to have the opportunity to have residents’ thoughtful questions answered,” says Williams Lake Mayor Kerry Cook. “Council will receive a report incorporating the discussions from the forum, and will choose an option at a Council meeting in November.”

The Carson-Fox Mountain project is part of the Cariboo Connector initiative to four-lane Highway 97 from Prince George to Cache Creek, and was identified as a priority in order to increase safety and mobility. The project was begun in 1996, and the premier announced it would form part of Phase 2 of the Cariboo Connector initiative in April 2012.

The PowerPoint presentation made at the forum is available to download from the Ministry of Transportation’s project page at http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/cariboo_connector/Carson-Fox/index.htm. Those who wish to comment on the project can do so by contacting Project manager Lisa Miller in writing at LisaAnn.Miller@gov.bc.ca, or to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, 447 Columbia Street, Kamloops, BC, V2C 2T3. Comments can also be sent to City Engineering Technologist Jeff Bernardy at 250-392-1767, jbernardy@williamslake.ca, or in writing to 450 Mart Street, Williams Lake, BC, V2G 1N3.