MEDIA RELEASE

City of Williams Lake

Tel: 250-392-2311 Fax: 250-392-4408 450 Mart Street Williams Lake, BC V2G 1N3

For Immediate Release

February 12, 2014

Council Advises Transportation Ministry to Proceed with Option 1 for Highway 97 Project
At its regular meeting Feb. 11, Williams Lake City Council resolved to request the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to proceed with Option 1 with refinements for connection of city streets as part of the project to four-lane Highway 97 near Fox Mountain. The decision follows months of public consultation and a thorough review of a number of connection options. The impetus for the project was to improve safety on the highway in the corridor between Fox Mountain and Carson Drive. The provincial government later added this corridor as a Cariboo Connector project to also widen Highway 97 to four lanes. Option 1 consists of two connections from the new signalized highway intersection at Toop Road. Drivers heading west will have the choice of turning onto McKinnon Road or 11th Avenue. This option essentially maintains traffic patterns as they are today, yet with modern, improved geometry that will vastly improve safety and usability. Refinements to Option 1, introduced at an open house in June 2013, include: Broadway Avenue Alignment: The initial design configuration consisted of Broadway Avenue extending north from Toop Road along Sunset Drive, then cutting sharply through a vacant lot back to its existing alignment. It has since been decided to keep Broadway Avenue on its existing alignment closer to the highway. This alignment is superior for several reasons, including better grades, less need to acquire property along Sunset Drive, and much less impact on the vacant commercial lot. 11th Avenue Sidewalk: This change includes the addition of a sidewalk from the lights along 11th Avenue to the construction area. The City then has the option to bring sidewalks all the way from Smedley Street, completing a missing pedestrian link along 11th Avenue to the highway. Broadway Avenue Bike Path: The need to strengthen trail connections is important in this project, and an opportunity arose to connect City streets to other existing trail networks. This would be accomplished by means of a path from the north extent of Broadway Avenue, along the highway, connecting to Fox Mountain Road. This is viewed as especially beneficial to cyclists bound for the trail network, but the path would be paved and wide enough to permit shared, multiuse twoway traffic. Weigh Scale Path: A path has been considered for the old weigh scale area, providing another pedestrian option and an aesthetic feature.

10th Avenue Access: A provision for a pathway or sidewalk from McKinnon Road down to 10th Avenue will provide increased pedestrian connectivity. If sidewalks are also installed on Johnson Street down to Western Avenue, foot access to the highway intersection will be greatly improved.

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will incorporate the refinements into the detailed design phase of the project, for the Citys review. It is expected that the 50% detailed design should be complete by the end of February. The Ministry is drafting a costsharing agreement for the various components of the project, with negotiations scheduled to begin midFebruary. The Ministry will also initiate property acquisition. Construction is anticipated to take place in 2015-2016. The project to improve this section of Highway 97, as well as associated changes to intersections, has been underway since 1996. Several public consultation sessions have been held over that time, including an open house in April 2010, and three open houses in 2013. 30 For more information, contact: Ken MacInnis Communications Coordinator 250-392-8488