In the five years since the NDP came to power, the B.C. Ministry of Transportation has not funded a single capital project in the Central Okanagan, claims local MLA Norm Letnick.
“We’re almost five years in, and they're spending billions and billions of dollars every year everywhere else, especially in their ridings,” the Kelowna-Lake Country BC United MLA told Castanet News.
Last week, Letnick pressed transportation minister Rob Fleming in the legislature over the complete lack of capital funding for the Central Okanagan in the province’s $11.5 billion, three-year transportation plan.
“Since some time ago, when I was on Kelowna city council, to today, Kelowna has seen a new bridge; Highway 97 six-laning; overpass at UBC Okanagan; Highway 33 four-laning; a passing lane up Walker's Hill,” Letnick said in the legislature.
“The list can go on and on, but the well dried up when this minister's government took over. And $11.5 billion in the next three years in capital, and I didn't hear one penny in the last answer for the Central Okanagan.”
“My advice, more than a question, to the minister is: please reprioritize, because it doesn't look good for us in the Central Okanagan to see all that capital expenditure, and then all of a sudden the money's gone. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's going on.”
Letnick pointed to the need for intersection upgrades on Highway 97 at Crystal Waters as well as better intersections at Glenmore and Beaver Lake roads on the highway.
“There is a need for medians to be finished between Kelowna and Lake Country,” he added.
The Central Okanagan is the fastest growing metropolitan area in Canada, according to the last census.
Letnick, in an interview with Castanet, says he’s heard from residents that highways infrastructure is not keeping up with growth in the Central Okanagan.
The provincial government is responsible for highways and roads outside of municipalities, while cities manage non-highway roads within their limits.
“Everybody knows me. I like to get along, move things along collaboratively, but at some point, you have to call a spade a spade,” Letnick said.
“I can understand a little bit of the politics, but to completely blank out an area, so important to the economic life in this province… at some point, the minister needs to be called to town for this,” Letnick continued.
He said when the BC Liberals, now BC United, were in power the province invested in infrastructure in places like Vancouver Island that are overwhelmingly made up of NDP voters.
Castanet contacted the Ministry of Transportation on Friday to ask if it could provide details on spending in the Central Okanagan over the past five years, but did not get a response by deadline.
In the legislature, Minister Fleming said the government is aware that congestion on Highway 97 "is a problem."
"We've been working with the City of Kelowna, with West Kelowna, with the municipalities around his area, Lake Country, to talk about a number of initiatives and to put some data and high-level costs behind them on what the next iteration of projects will look like," he said.
