FRUIT STAND OWNERS SAY HWY. 97 EXPANSION WILL HURT THEIR BUSINESSES
Posted on 12 January 2010 by admin
Kuldip Bahniwal, owner of the Golden Mile Fruit Market located on Hwy. 97 north of 202 Avenue, has said provincial plans to create a new, four-lane stretch of highway while turning the existing highway where his fruit stand is located into a separate access road will hurt his business. His concerns are shared by the owners of the Orchard Hill Estate Cidery and Fruit Market, located just down the road. Photo by Paul Everest - Click on picture for larger image
OSOYOOS TIMES-January 13, 2010
By Paul Everest - Osoyoos Times
The owners of two fruit stands located on Hwy. 97 north of Osoyoos are worried that plans to expand the highway to four lanes will hurt their businesses.
In November, the federal and provincial governments pledged $8 million towards the construction of a new, two-kilometre stretch of four-lane highway running from Graveyard Hill to Dead Man’s Lake.
A preliminary plan of the project shows that the new stretch of road would run parallel to the existing highway from just south of 202 Avenue to just south of Road 21.
The Orchard Hill Estate Cidery and Fruit Market and the Golden Mile Fruit Market both stand on the stretch of highway that would be replaced.
That section of highway would become a frontage road accessed from intersections at either Road 22 or 202 Avenue, which leads to the Willow Beach property.
Iqbal and Gian Dhaliwal, the owners of Orchard Hill, said that once the new stretch of road is completed, their business would no longer have highway access and would therefore be cut off from customers seeking fruit or cider in the summertime.
They said even with signage on the new stretch of highway, people would not notice the fruit market until they passed it and would likely not turn around to go back along the frontage road.
Iqbal said he is in favour of expanding the highway to four lanes, but added that it would be less costly to taxpayers and better for his business if two lanes were simply added to the existing highway.
He also said the design of his parking lot lets drivers exit the highway safely and, unlike most other local fruit stands, allows for large trucks, buses and RVs to pull into the property.
Kuldip Bahniwal is the owner of the Golden Mile Fruit Market just down the road.
He echoes the Dhaliwals’ concerns and said that if the intention of the planned expansion of the highway is to allow people to go faster on the road, no one will be paying attention to where turnoffs are for the fruit stands.
The Dhaliwals’ have started a petition against the current plans for the highway relocation and expansion which states that, “We the undersigned, being owners of property and locals adjacent to the proposed rebuilding of Highway 97, hereby give you notice that we strongly oppose any relocation of Highway 97 in our corridor.”
As of Jan. 7, 111 people had signed the petition.
Iqbal said he has also contacted provincial and federal leaders about his concerns.
Alex Atamanenko, federal MP for the B.C.’s Southern Interior, has weighed in on the matter after Iqbal wrote to one of his constituency offices.
In a letter to Boundary-Similkameen MLA John Slater dated Dec. 14, Atamanenko outlined some of the Dhaliwals’ concerns and asked Slater to take “some consideration that something can still be worked out, so Mr. and Mrs. Dhaliwal and other businesses in this Hwy. 97 corridor do not suffer significant loss of income from this highway construction and new design.”
In an interview on Jan. 8, Slater said the reason four new lanes of highway will be constructed instead of just expanding the existing stretch of road has to do with safety.
He argues that with the creation of the frontage road, accesses to businesses, orchards and residences on the west side of the road in that corridor would be away from the highway, so people could pull in and out of those accesses without having to worry about other motorists on the road going 80 km/h.
“Now you can slow down and pull in.”
It would also mean agriculturalists in that corridor could move their tractors along the frontage road without having to pull their slow-moving vehicles onto the highway.
While the Dhaliwals say they appreciate the need to make Hwy. 97 safer, they argue that the stretch being considered for the expansion is one of the safer parts of the highway and it would be better to focus safety concerns towards the dangerous corners at Graveyard Hill and Dead Man’s Lake.
Slater said this stretch of road was chosen for the expansion because there are no accesses to residences or orchards on the east side of the highway.
He said he negotiated to have the preliminary plan for the four-lane expansion amended to include a pull-out and rest stop on the west side of Hwy. 97 off of the 202 Avenue intersection near the gravel pit.
Combined with signage indicating fruit stands at both ends of the corridor, something Slater said he also negotiated for with the provincial Transportation Ministry, motorists can use the pull-out to get off the highway easily and make their way to the fruit stands.
He added that trees in the median between the proposed new stretch of four-lane highway and the frontage road will be removed so people passing by will see the fruit stands and they can pull off the highway at either intersection to get to them.
The original plan for the proposed expansion came up in the early 1990s, Slater said, and the ministry was ready to start work on the expansion in 2003.
Concerns arose at the time, however, that the plan would be “detrimental” to residents and business owners with property along that stretch.
Slater said he is confident that the current plan, including the pull-out and signage indicating fruit stands, will make the roadway safer and the stands will not lose any business.
Creating a new, four-lane stretch of highway will allow traffic to flow more easily along Hwy. 97 while reducing the instances of road rage that arise when drivers get caught behind slower moving vehicles on a two-lane stretch of roadway, he said.
The plan’s current design will be used once construction on the project begins, Slater added, although ministry engineers are still looking at several issues along the corridor.
When the Osoyoos Times contacted the ministry for information on what those engineering concerns are, a ministry spokeswoman said they would be addressed at an open house on the matter which will likely take place in late January or early February.
The spokeswoman also said the plan for the expansion would also be made public at the open house.
Slater said the project could be sent out for tender soon and construction could begin by the spring.
The new stretch of highway will be built along a right-of-way formerly owned by Canadian Pacific Railway and Slater said enough of the right-of-way will be left over to have a hike-and-bike trail constructed parallel to the roadway.
news@osoyoostimes.com
I would like to know on which side of the highway this expansion will be. It is my understanding that the Kettle Valley rail bed actually runs just below and parallel with the highway and is part of the Willow Beach Property. If this is the side of the highway slated for expansion then how will that affect the handful of houses just below the highway and which are currently part of the Willow Beach Manufactured Home Park. What will happen to the handful of houses along the lake shore. Those houses also lie parallel and just below the highway between Willow Beach and Graveyard Hill. And finally, how will the residents of all of these homes have entrance and egress to and from their homes.
A map of the proposed expansion would be most beneficial. I am really very tired of our local politicians doing all this stuff without adequate public discourse and then bragging about it in the Osoyoos Times without even an adequate explanation. Oh yes, the details are coming later is not helpful to the taxpayer or the electorate.
If I understand this, we are designing our major highways based around fruit stands? I wonder if the US designed its interstate highway system based around fruit stands? Somehow I think not. It’s no wonder this country’s infrastructure is beneath many 3rd world countries.
Highways are open 365 days a year, 24 hrs a day. Fruit stands are open maybe 12 hrs a day for 2 months of the year. Give me a break please. I would bet the billions of dollars in cargo that move up in down the Hwy 97 corridor is worth more than the cyder sold on the highway.
GREETING TO THE MOTORING PUBLIC AND OF COURSE TO THE RESIDENTS ADJACENT TO HWY 97.THE MINISTRY HAS DONE A REAL GOOD JOB OF PLANNING AND ADDRESSING THE ACCESS TO THE FRUITSTANDS AND WILLOW BEACH. THE ONLY WAY THAT THE ACCESS COULD BE ANY BETTER IS TO HAVE THE ACCESS TO WILLOW BEACH AND THE REST PARK FOR BIGGER UNITS ETC AND OF COURSE THE FRUITSTAND FRONTAGE ROAD GO THROUGH AN UNDERPASS. THE LAST TIME THIS SECTION OF HIGHWAYS WAS WORKED ON WAS 1952DROP IN TO OUR MLAS OFFICE AND REVIEW THE PLANS WITH DIANA.IM SURE YOU WILL ALL BE HAPPY WITH THE ACCESS
The above usage of grammar and spelling is atrocious. Please take the time to properly reply to the concerned resident, not in a capitalized long rant that is difficult to read and looks totally unprofessional.
i’m not too sure about the expension projected….
it will probably hurt the fruit stand business in some kind of way….who will want to get off to a secondary lane when everywhere else before or after there are fruit stands just aside the highway…..
in what the situation around road 22 is different from the rest of the highway going towards Oliver….
safety matter yeah! right….. people will drive faster….
road rage….. it’s only a 2kms stretch….wath about the rest, people will pass around road 22 and get stuck for the next 10 kms….. doesn’t make a difference to me….
i drive by every day to go to work and never been in such a hurry that a 4 lanes would make a difference.
to me it’s just a waste of money…..
8 million dollars that could be directed towards something more beneficial….
i would approuve the project if it was for a stretch of many kms (like in summerland)…. but what difference 2kms will make in our lives…..
tractor and slow moving vehicules are everywhere here….not only in that specific section…..
especially that there is just a handful of houses compare to other sections of the highway…..
While I sympathize with the orchard owners in question, I understand the Ministry’s point of view also. I live south of Oliver and work in Osoyoos. In the summer, motorists waiting to turn into those 2 particular fruit stands tie up traffic for long periods of time while they wait for a safe opportunity to turn across the highway. I’ve seen some dangerous situations occur because drivers who’ve been stuck waiting at a stop for several minutes get impatient and take huge risks. While I agree that we could all do with a little more patience when driving, it makes sense to try to solve the problem in a way that makes the best compromise possible for all parties. You can’t always find a solution that is ideal for everyone but this plan sounds like it tries to accommodate both sides.
I thought Mr. Knight’s comments were well said and passed on information that many people may not already know. Mr. Knight has lived in the vicinity of the proposed expansion for many years and has valuable information and insight to share. I didn’t see anything in his post that appeared hostile or like he was ranting. I read his post easily enough while keeping in mind that not everyone has a degree in English. Many people do not realize that capitalized type is considered yelling. Imperfect grammar and punctuation should not ever make an opinion less valuable. We all need to remember to listen to each other and reply without judgement whether we’re talking about how someone expresses themselves or whether it’a about the merits of improving a highway.
This highway expansion plan seems to have taken everyone into account. Let’s try to make it work to improve the safety of everyone involved.
thank you crystal wrighti am better educated than i writebut then how many writer and critics know i suffer from parkinsons disease.to rick my apologies i just type with one digit so have trouble using the shift bar.thank you for the time to let me comment
yours truly bob knight
THIS SECTION OF HIGHWAY IS A KILLER .IN RECENT YEARS FROM MCGIBBONS CORNER TO 160TH AVENUE WHICH IS APPROX.4 KILOMETERS I CAN RECALL AT LEAST SEVEN DEATHS IN RECENT YEARS.NONE OF THEM WERE FRUITSTAND RELATED BUT THEN AGAIN THE FRUIT SEASON IS SHORT BUT THE FRUIT STAND OPERATOR AT THE GOLDENMILE STAND IS NOT THE OWNER BUT A RENTER. THE OWNER HAULS MOST OF HIS FRUIT TO VANCOUVER ETC.SITTING IN AT THE FRUITSTAND AND HAVING A DRINK IS QUITE AN EXPERIENCE AS YOU WATCH THE IMPATIENT CARS HIT PASSING GEAR ADJACENT TO THE FRUITSTAND.ITS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME.IN THE OFF SEASON THE FEDERALIES LIKE TO WORK THE BEAM BY PARKING IN THERE AND GETTING THIER QUOTA OF BLUE MONETARY REMINDERS TO SLOW DOWN.