North Shuswap Kicker April 2022

MoTI to Review Parallel Path Plans

By Jo Anne Malpass

Shovel or shelf ready: A project which has advanced to the stage (research, planning and design complete) where construction can commence immediately. The term is used in reference to projects which are ‘ready to go’ and are considered candidates for infrastructure funding.

A parallel pathway along Squilax-Anglemont is one step closer to being shovel ready, now that a meeting has been set for April 5, between the Columbia Shuswap Regional District Community Services and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to discuss the feasibility of the preliminary engineering plans.

CSRD Team Leader Community Services Ryan Nitchie told the Kicker “we are working with staff from MoTI to set up a meeting to discuss the preliminary planning that was completed by Lawson Engineering. Unfortunately, the flooding event that occurred in the province in late November caused MoTI staff to re-allocate much of their staff to repairing the damage caused by that flooding so they have been delayed in setting up a meeting with us.”

The North Shuswap Pathway Team started researching the possibilities of a parallel path for active transportation on the North Shuswap almost two years ago. To make sure if was on the right track and residents wanted this, it put out an on-line survey which saw 329 responses between July 27 and August 17, 2020. 96% of respondents said it was important to have a path for safety reasons.

The Team soon realized it would need to focus on a few specific sections of the Squilax-Anglemont if any progress was to be made. After looking at each section on the road and mapping out where there appeared to be fewer obstacles, the Team focussed on three sections.

In May of 2021, Lawson Engineering, hired by the CSRD, did a topographic survey of three sections of a proposed active transportation pathway from Lakeview Community Park in Anglemont to Ross Creek Park in Magna Bay, from Ross Creek Park to Bristow Boat Launch in Celista and connecting pathways in Scotch Creek. Lawson provided the CSRD with overall site plans for each individual priority area, preliminary design considerations, next steps and cost estimates in October 2021.

There are several federal and provincial grants available for active transportation projects. Planning for the 2022/23 BC Active Transportation Grant program intake, which offers up to $500,000 is underway now.

If you would like to know more about the proposed pathway and the Team, you can go to North Shuswap Pathway Facebook page or email nspathway@northshuswapbc.com