Vanderhoof mayor is concerned about two parts of Highway 16 that run through the district.
Gerry Thiessen, mayor, met with Shaun Holahan and Van Hunsaker from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure on Feb. 13.
Thiessen said the municipal council would like to see revitalization on parts of Highway 16 from College of New Caledonia to the Museum.
“We have been talking to many of the major utilities to see what our options would be, to have their services put underground, which in turn would widen out the sidewalks and make that area much more accessible,” Thiessen told the Omineca Express.
Municipal council is concerned with the Vanderhoof’s aesthetics for drivers passing through town, and “we would like to make it more inviting to drive into the downtown core and stay awhile,” the mayor said.
The other big concern is with the amount of traffic between Museum and Noonla Road, Thiessen said.
“One often sees long lines of vehicles that are trying to merge with the highway traffic coming out of one of the many industrial locations.”
“We at council, see this area, as well as the intersection of Highway 27 and 16, as real potential problems,” the mayor added.
The corridor between Highway 27 and 16 has a high volume of traffic and Thiessen said he hopes the ministry will come up with a plan to meet the growing needs of the traffic west of Vanderhoof.
In a statement, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure staff told the Omineca Express that they has heard these concerns and will be working with their engineering department to understand how to best mitigate Vanderhoof’s issues.
“We will continue to work with the district of Vanderhoof to manage the impacts from development growth along the corridor,” read the ministry’s statement.
READ MORE: Q & A with Vanderhoof Mayor Gerry Thiessen
Aman Parhar
Editor, Vanderhoof Omineca Express
aman.parhar@ominecaexpress.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
