Mark Woods, Community Services Manager for the regional district, updated the Community Services Committee on trails status in the regional district on July 19.
Woods reported that a number of tenure applications were currently before the province.
Terms of reference for surfacing of the KVR trail between Kaleden and Okangan Falls are being prepared and environmental assessment work is being done at this time as well. A tender for the surfacing job will follow.
Area “D” Director Tom Siddon expressed surprise that the resurfacing project was not already underway. He also noted that both Skaha Estates and Kaleden were negotiating with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to acquire jurisdiction of the road ends to Skaha Lake.
A certificate of compliance is holding up progress in the development of the former Weyerhaueser lands into an industrial park in Okanagan Falls. Siddon expressed dissatisfacation at the fact that, four years after the mill shutdown, it still wasn’t available.
Princeton rural Director Brad Hope asked Woods how the motorized versus non-motorized trail use meetings were going, as Princeton had a particularly difficult situation with the two interests. One hundred thirteen kilometres of trail in and around the town were being hotly contested by both groups. Woods described discussions in the Naramata area over similar conflicts that produced some successful results, and it was hoped that similar success might be had in other hotbed areas like Faulder and Princeton.
A response from the Agricultural Land Commission is still to come as the regional district continues to work toward acquire a tenure for the Similkameen trail corridor in Keremeos.