Residents of Kelowna and West Kelowna frequently express concerns about safety and traffic flow when the William R. Bennett Bridge gets backed up significantly.
During fire season in the Central Okanagan, fires have closed both Westside Road between West Kelowna and Vernon, as well as the route between Peachland and Penticton. With West Kelowna having no 24-hour emergency health clinic, a congested bridge or closure due to a major accident could leave residents with no viable option to get emergency care in a timely manner. During a medical emergency, when every second matters, that could pose a significant risk to safety in West Kelowna.
With a provincial election campaign underway and local leaders calling for the provincial government to work toward a solution to the bottleneck, both the B.C. Conservatives and B.C. NDP say they would commit to working toward a solution. B.C. Conservative interim Leader Lorne Doerkson said his party is working on similar issues across the province and has heard the concerns of Kelowna and West Kelowna residents.
“We have a number of places in in the province that that is concerning. But your community is already very actively advocating for a second crossing. I met with individuals just a couple of weeks ago in Kelowna that are trying to sort of put together a bit of a plan and and begin that conversation in a in a very real way. So I’m all ears and certainly want to have that conversation with local residents and local municipalities.”
Kelowna-Centre NDP candidate Loyal Wooldridge has also been a frequent advocate for introducing a second crossing and says he has been working with partners to get the project started since his time on Kelowna city council.
“I’ve served for eight years on City Council for the last two terms, and part of that is really understanding what local governments and First Nations need to support people in their communities. This is part of a plan that has been endorsed by Kelowna City Council that, in my view, any MLA should be examining what plans are available to advocate for their community alongside local government. That’s the role of an MLA, and that’s truly what I believe any MLA should be doing. And that’s why I brought that item forward. This isn’t a pipe dream, this isn’t a new plan. It’s been worked on, it’s been consulted with, and it’s ready to go.”
The B.C. NDP leader praised Wooldridge for his advocacy to improve traffic flow and safety.
“Loyal called me from a dinghy to raise concern about the need of people in Kelowna to get across the water safely and effectively. And it’s that kind of local advocacy that’s going to deliver this crossing for the people of Kelowna.”
Kelowna residents will go to the polls on Saturday to decide which party can deliver on promises to improve quality of life, safety and more.
