I am responding to the Okanagan Rail Trail Society. I have read all of your information and it states trail construction and maintenance economic impacts have not been included.
It also states in many places that it was a quick report.
If they are planning to go forward with this, let us see a proper business investment prospectus. When doing this prospectus, make sure you include all communication with landowners involved. This should involve a questionnaire to all landowners involved.
It must take into account the possibility that gas could get as high as $2 to $2.50 a litre in the near future because of Far East and European problems.
Will Alberta get its oil out to any port and the downturn in the Third World economies and North American economies not responding as expected?
These will all have a devastating result on the travelling public.
The society seems to ignore my question about what are we going to do with all of this extra traffic they say we will get?
We have traffic problems now: 32nd Street and 27th Street are both just about operating at maximum and this increase will cause major traffic jams.
So who is going to pay for the major road building that will be encountered? We the public should not be responsible. The trail people should have to raise a major portion of this money if they wish to build the trail.
Their own impact study indicates that the Kekuli Bay campsite, for July and August, is overfilled now. So what is going to happen when more people are coming in?
Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park, in my opinion today, is overused and we should lower the number of people per day using it and shut down bike riding as we are destroying a one of a kind park. If we allow more people to use it our children might not have it to use and admire.
Why is the initiative thinking this will help commuting? Very few will use this to commute to any of the communities as it takes too long. You are creating a trail for the use of a few, and where are they getting their numbers? The KVR, which is an established trail with a great views, only has 40,000 and they say we will surpass this in five years, hard to believe.
The initiative also states that it will create the equivalent of 66 full-time jobs. Now I question this as it will be a mostly seasonal business and therefore the jobs will be part-time (now here near the hours, pay or benefits of full-time). Please be honest with the public when you are asking to use their hard-earned money for nothing.
If this is such a good deal, then private money should be lining up to invest in it.
My tax money would be better used for education, medical and the elderly.
Garry Haas
Vernon
