The view may be fine, but the outlook towards turning the west side of the former Sicamous bridge into a public lookout is puzzling to Kim Hyde.
Recently the District of Sicamous has been cleaning up the west-side access to the former bridge that connected Old Spallumcheen Road to Main Street.
“What we’re trying to do is just clean it up because when you look at it from Main Street Landing, it’s blah and whatever,” says district administrator Alan Harris. “So, we’re actually going to paint it white and it will have a little sitting area.”
While no signage is proposed to mark the lookout on the nearby Trans-Canada Highway, Hyde is baffled why the district would do anything that encourages people to pull over and stop.
“I’ve just seen too many accidents on the end of the bridge,” says Hyde, referring to the existing Bruhn Bridge.
Harris says the seating area is intended for foot traffic – joggers or people out walking their dog, as well as cyclists.
“It’s not for someone to stop and park along the road because it’s not wide enough to do that,” says Harris.
But Hyde says no one walks their dog in that area, and that joggers or morning walkers don’t typically stop to sit. However, she has already seen people pull over in their vehicle to visit the site.
“There were people who had pulled in there and were parked facing down CPR Hill yesterday and out standing on that little abutment of the old bridge, taking pictures,” says Hyde, who cannot understand why the district would spend money to improve the lookout instead of putting it towards other needs, such as phase two of the water park at the Beach Park.
Hyde, of Hyde Mountain Golf Course located on Spallumcheen Road, has long been a proponent of constructing an alternative to the Bruhn Bridge, either at the former bridge site or elsewhere, to assist further development on the west side while dealing with safety concerns related to the hazardous intersection. And while there’s been political interest, she’s yet to see any political will.
“Every time there’s an election, they’re all over it and wanting it and stuff, and once they’re elected, it’s not there anymore,” says Hyde. “So, if they’re not willing to step forward and help make a safer access, why are they encouraging people to turn over here, and spending money to sit on a bench?”
A district transportation review in Oct. 2009 found a bridge at Main Street to be the most cost-effective solution to a new channel crossing. Council’s support was lacking, however, given the still significant expense would likely fall on the district.
“Not only will the municipality have to pay for construction, the district will also become the owner of the bridge, which will require ongoing maintenance and eventual replacement…,” Coun. Fred Busch commented at that time.
