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WR BENNETT BRIDGE
Fill out the form below and let everyone know your thoughts on the new WR Bennett Bridge.
The William R. Bennett bridge was named after our former premier Bill Bennett. The new bridge officially opened on May 25, 2008 with a cake and party.
One thing we heard is that the new William R Bennett bridge is missing a lane. The new 5 lane bridge replaces the old 3 lane bridge. They should have made just one more lane and forget about controlling traffic to switch lanes because the switching lanes is a hazard.
This web page has a photo of the old 3 lane bridge ... its a good photo showing all three lanes. The photo was taken as they were driving across the bridge deck.
In the Kelowna Capital News video of the bridge opening, the Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon congratulates Premier Gordon Campbell, then Premier Gordon Campbell congratulates William (Bill) Bennett our former Premier. Not one of these government people congratulates the taxpayers who paid for the WR Bennett bridge to start with!! Kevin Falcon even goes so far as to say "Because this bridge wouldn't have happened if it were not for this Premier (Gordon Campbell). Bill Bennett mentions to Premier Gordon Campbell now he can start working on the next bridge.
We can't believe that taxpayers were not thanked! Just goes to show what kind of government taxpayers have .... taxpayers are not part of the equation and don't deserve any praise ... just the government people deserve praise! Its Gordon Campbell's money isn't it?
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Campbell could learn a thing or two from Bill Bennett By Alistair Waters - Kelowna Capital News - May 28, 2008 For a 76-year-old, Bill Bennett is a pretty spry guy. But, as he showed Sunday, his quickness is not just on foot. Bennett, who was premier of B.C. for 11 years, showed he has lost none of the political acumen that kept his Social Credit Party in power for so many years when he seized an opportunity to publicly lobby for a second crossing of Okanagan Lake. Prior to hoofing it over the new bridge that bears his name—moving at such a clip that organizers of the bridge opening celebrations had to ask him to slow down at one point so the thousands who followed could catch up—Bennett appealed to the man who named the new bridge after him, current Premier Gordon Campbell, to start planning for a bridge. In a day where the biggest controversy was the 20-minute wait for a piece of celebratory bridge-opening cake, Bennett’s call was about as contentious as it got. But he knew he had the crowd on his side and there was little Campbell or his Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon could do but grin and bear it. Prior to the speeches, Bennett was asked about the need for a second crossing and he made his view clear. “When I was there (in the Premier’s officer) I believed you needed to plan early,” he told the Capital News. Minutes later, in front of a cheering throng that numbered in the thousands, he told Campbell the same thing. For Falcon, the words must have sounded sweet given the position he has been left in by his government when it comes to a second crossing. Four years ago, he came to Kelowna and announced money had been set aside to start work on identifying a road corridor that would eventually lead to a second bridge. But according to city officials, little, if any, work has been done on that issue. The reason? Victoria was spending $144 million on a new bridge for us. Isn’t that enough? Well, at the risk of looking a gift horse in the mouth and seeming greedy, no it’s not. This is one of the fastest growing areas of the province, Highway 97 is quickly becoming a major north-south trade route and one crossing of a lake that’s 120 kilometres long is not enough. The new bridge may have an anticipated lifespan of 75 years, but it’s ability to handle the growing volume of traffic that will use it is more like 15 to 20 years. Hence the need to heed Bennett’s call. Building the second bridge will be the easy part. Finding the corridor for the roads leading to it will be hard. Love or hate his brand of politics in the past, Bennett knew that back when he was premier, and as a result work was being done by his government to identify a second crossing corridor. And he’s the first to admit, it was his old party, the Socreds, that dropped the issue after he left office. The NDP didn’t pick it up and neither have the Liberals. So if Campbell really does want to be a premier like Bill Bennett, now’s his chance to prove it. awaters at kelownacapnews.com The assistant editor of the Capital News, Alistair Waters has a nose for politics at the civic, provincial and federal levels, and helps readers understand the verbal spin doctoring politicians are fond of using. |
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How much to maintain WRB bridge? By Karin Wilson - Kelowna Capital News - June 01, 2008 I’m not one for parties. In fact, truth be told, the more people turn out for an event the more likely it is that I won’t be there. Generally I shun events like Canada Day parades and Sex in the City screenings. I guess I’m happy to let someone else grab any bragging rights. As a result, it took me until Monday afternoon to experience my first drive over the bridge. I decided it was worth honouring in some small measure, so I made sure to talk to my dog about all the fine details as we crossed (she was sitting in the seat next to me—my silent and largely uninterested companion.) The experience was far quicker than I anticipated. Maybe that’s because I’ve spent so many years trying to drown out the hum whenever I drove over the lift span. Or maybe it was because I have been simply awestruck by the enormity of the project, and no amount of kilometres could really have measured up to my imagination. Truth is, I really do love engineering, even though I’m pathetic at math. It’s a monument, really, to humanity’s ability to overcome obstacles. So that’s the good stuff—the “isn’t this grand” stuff that we’ve all been expected to gush out in the midst of this party-like atmosphere. But here’s the stuff that really struck me. First—as I came out of Kelowna, I was astounded at how close I was to the water. That afternoon, the water was quite choppy on the north side (as it frequently is), and it wasn’t hard to imagine spray coming up and over onto the bridge deck during the winter months. Which led me to my next thought—condensation and ice build-up. Just how much winter maintenance is this bridge going to require? The next question was the steep six per cent grade. From a bird’s eye view, the bridge looks quite steep, but climbing it in my car the experience was negligible. Will that be the same once winter hits? I don’t know. I’m aware that whenever I drive the Connector in the winter it’s the tiny little bridge decks that are always the iciest. I don’t know if that will be the case here, but it’s something to consider. And finally, I thought about the cost of this bridge. Much has been made by the Opposition that the $144-million figure doesn’t represent the true cost of the bridge. What’s missing is how much we’ll actually have spent at the end of the day. And it will be significantly more. But others argue it’s no different than getting a $350,000 mortgage for your new home and realizing that in 25-years that house will have cost you nearly $700,000 (with monthly payments of $2,200.) As I said before, I may not be good at math, but I’m sure you get my point. The bigger question for me is not how much the “loan” is, but how much will the maintenance be. My gut feeling is that we’re going to be paying a big whack of dough for this—and that may have not been an issue when it came to designing the bridge in the first place. Engineers are hired to construct bridges, not maintain them. This was built as a P3 project—the much ballyhooed public-private partnership. The government’s argument has been that this saves the taxpayer dollars by allowing private enterprise to take the risk. But private enterprise won’t take risks unless they’re worth it. They’re in the business of making money, after all. I’m not for a moment suggesting anyone cut corners that would put the driver at risk, but if at the end of the day you can save money by building a bridge that costs a bit more in annual expenditures for maintenance, hey—that’s not my problem. The company is in charge of ensuring the cost of the capital project. The ongoing expenses—that’s another matter all together. Under the terms of the bridge contract, SNC-Lavelin was responsible for not only the construction of the new bridge, but maintenance costs of the old structure until the deal was finished. And those were considerable. There was, and is, nothing in the deal to suggest they have any ongoing responsibility for maintaining the new bridge. We, the taxpayers, will be paying that bill. So, watch those figures. Therein could lay the real tale of the William R. Bennett Bridge. It’s all in the numbers and how you play the game, after all. Karin Wilson has reported on Okanagan issues for 15 years. A freelance journalist, a parent and Westside resident, Karin Wilson provides an insightful look at life on the west side of Okanagan Lake. |
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Bridge drive is a treat, but for how long June 01, 2008 - Kelowna Capital News - Opinion Driving the William R. Bennett Bridge was a commuter’s dream this week, and the structure wasn’t even fully open. Its wide open space and amazing vistas are an incredible improvement from the 50-year-old, traffic jam-ridden structure we’ve had to endure until now. Unfortunately, we all know the honeymoon won’t last. And the debate has already begun as to how long it will take for the lustre to wear off for the travelling public. It will no doubt take as long as the first major accident. And that begs a question. When the traffic gets too heavy for this five-lane structure, which should have had six lanes to begin with, what will the solution be? The province has already proven its lack of vision on a second crossing, so we can rule out another bridge. That leaves one of two options. One: The interchanging signals will return to the centre lane, to allow for three lanes out when needed, or three lanes in. Or two: The main bridge deck will be widened to a sixth lane and the pedestrian/cycling concourse will be made to hang over the south side. Either way, stories about the new bridge have only just begun. |
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New bridge a symbol for other bridges we need to build By Albert Baldeo - Kelowna Capital News - June 01, 2008 I was grateful to be part of the historical occasion of the opening of the William R. Bennett Bridge last Sunday. I even had the pleasure of having my picture taken with man-of-the-day Bill Bennett, as I shook the hand of history. In the afternoon there were long lineups for everything. I got into the cake line up and waited and waited and waited. Waiting in line with Parkinson’s disease is not a favourite pastime of mine. As luck would have it, just as I got to the front of the line, a young lady said to me apologetically, “Sorry sir, that was the last piece, there is no more.” My bridge collapsed and I came home cakeless. However, it was while waiting in line for cake that I got the inspiration for this column. It dawned upon me that we are all bridge builders in one way or another. There is a need to build bridges and break down the walls that separate us in all areas of our lives. As election fever warms up in the United States, there is more and more talk of racism than ever before. For the first time in history, we face the possibility of a black man becoming president of the United States. Many will find that very difficult to accept. Will a black man ever move into the White House? This will call for major bridge building. In Trinidad, where I was born and raised, there are definite racial conflicts that tend to erupt during elections. Even the electoral boundaries are arranged on a racial basis. Economically how do we bridge the chasm that separates the rich from the poor? How do we build bridges between the aboriginal and the non-aboriginal communities? Or between Muslims and Christians? I recently heard someone on the radio asking the question why chiropractors and medical doctors can’t seem to get along. Apparently, there is need for building bridges even among professionals. If you think that there is no need for bridge building in the Christian church, then tell me why we have more than 2,000 denominations, each one thinking it has a monopoly on truth. There are evangelicals, liberals, charismatics, fundamentalists and many other classifications. “To dwell up above with the saints that we love, that will be glory. But to dwell below with the saints that we know, that’s another story.” There have been major church conflicts over the question of baptism. Is immersion superior to sprinkling or pouring? Which is right or which is wrong? There was a time when the organ was forbidden to enter the church building because it was an instrument of the devil. I remember seeing a cartoon in which the usher-greeters were asking the worshippers as they entered whether they wanted to be seated in the clapping or non-clapping section. I was raised in the Presbyterian Church of Trinidad, where dancing was considered a mortal sin. (I loved to dance). When I went on a race reconciliation program in the United States, my goal was to build bridges between the black and white Presbyterians by setting up dialogue groups. After four months, I did manage to get one group going which lasted for two years. Another great need for bridge building is in family relations. The conflicts in families today has reached the point where 50 per cent of marriages end in divorce. The need to build bridges in families is urgent and necessary. As a clergyman, I have been involved in dozens of occasions where I have been invited to try and help build bridges of healing. May our new bridge be a constant image to us to continue building bridges, particularly in personal relationships. May the William R. Bennett Bridge serve as an instrument to enhance the relationship between the cities of Westside and Kelowna. May it be the bridge of friendship. The City of Kelowna’s motto is “Fruitful in Unity.” Let us apply our city’s motto to become better bridge builders. Rev. Albert Baldeo is a retired United Church minister. |
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Complete disclosure required May 28, 2008 - Kelowna Capital News - Letters Open letter to the Premier of B.C. and the Minister of Highways: During the Okanagan Lake Bridge opening on Sunday both of you made statements which apparently contradict each other. We, the taxpayers, have been told that the bridge costs were $144 million and that they came in “under budget.” The premier said in a media interview that because the bridge was opened over 100 days early the taxpayers would save $25 million over the next number of years. Where do these savings occur? Please quantify it. The Minister of Highways said in an interview that since the engineering company SNC-Lavalin completed the contract ahead of schedule that they would be paid (“earn”) additional bonus funds for early completion. He did not elucidate how much that amount was. These two statements appear contradictory. Since you are committed as a government to transparency and full disclosure of this public-private partnership (P3) contract, and because we also do not know the costs of the long-term maintenance contract for this bridge to be paid to SNC-Lavalin, what are the exact costs and the exact savings? SNC-Lavalin’s chief executive officer publicly admitted in the Globe and Mail last week that maintenance contracts would be high margin, expensive contracts. Full transparent public disclosure of these costs and non-documented alleged savings are necessary in view of your contradictory public statements. Second, would the provincial government reconsider the cost of this self-admitted expensive maintenance contract and renegotiate this on-going cost to the taxpayers to a more moderate level? This is a long-term contract. John O. Powell, Kelowna |
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The new $144-million William R. Bennett Bridge May 25, 2008 - Kelowna Capital News - News Sean Connor/Capital News RELATED STORIES WEB EXTRA - New William R. Bennett Bridge opened A new crossing… The new $144-million William R. Bennett Bridge, named after former B.C. premier and current Westside resident Bill Bennett, officially opens today with a day-long celebration in Kelowna’s City Park. Bridge officials say traffic will start flowing over the bridge in the westbound lanes first thing Monday morning, and later in the week, the eastbound lanes will open up. The bridge was built by a consortium lead by SNC Lavalin, the company that will maintain it for the next 35 years under contract the province. |
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Time to plan for a second OK Lake bridge May 25, 2008 - Kelowna Capital News - Opinion The day is finally here. After years of waiting, the Central Okanagan is finally set to open a new bridge over Okanagan Lake. With all that has been said and written about the new $144 million William R. Bennett Bridge, there is little else to do but cheer. So now, maybe, the attention of the provincial government will turn to the planning for a second crossing of the lake. With the new five-lane bridge expected to be handle traffic well for the next 15 years, there is no reason why planning can’t start now to identify a traffic corridor for a second bridge. Long an unkept promise by successive B.C. governments, work to ready this area for a second crossing is now needed more than ever. While today is a day to celebrate the opening of the new bridge—50 years after the first lake crossing was opened—the communities of the Central Okanagan cannot rest on their laurels and let Victoria think all the work is done. It may seem greedy at a time when so much has been spent here on the new bridge to be talking about more, but building the second crossing will be the easy part. It is the planning that will take time and ingenuity. And the clock is ticking. So let that planning begin. |
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Not too late to leave old bridge in place May 18, 2008 - Kelowna Capital News - letters To the editor: Come to downtown Kelowna and see the new bridge —it opens next weekend with a grand party costing $140,000 and people are going to walk on it for a day before they actually open it for traffic. I can hardly wait for the first snowfall in November to see the cars piled up at either end after sliding down the long slopes of five lanes of ice and freezing rain—especially watching the steep slopes on the other Westside end of it. Cars and trucks will be sliding down higgledy piggledly, trying to miss each other either going up or coming down. It will be a gut-wrenching winter in 2009. It may be even better than watching the Olympics this summer . SNC-LAVELIN, the builders who will be maintaining the bridge, better have lots of sand trucks, de-icing fluid, road salt and manganese crystals ready for this baby for the next 30 years. At least they are offering to pay for a portion of the party next Sunday. Maybe it can sub-contract the Coquihalla connector maintenance trucks? The latest news is the old floating bridge will be dismantled and sunk in the deepest parts of the lake. Maybe they should hang on to it and the old liftspan—without its ugly top of course—until next spring in case they really need it. Just think, eight lanes to use—regardless of the weather. John Powell Kelowna |
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Kiss FM News - May 29, 2008 Once Kelowna's new floating bridge is fully open, work will begin to pull apart the deteriorating hulk of the old span. The steel centre will go first, allowing boat traffic to travel the length of Okanagan Lake, once again. But it will be a little tougher to get rid of the giant pontoons which weigh between six and eight-thousand tonnes -- or about as much as a B-C Ferry. It's expected the pontoons will be cleaned and sunk -- hitting the bottom of Okanagan Lake in 150 metres of water off Bear Creek park or Rattlesnake Island. |
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WEB EXTRA - New William R. Bennett Bridge opened It was an impressive sight. |
| Central Okanagan West discussion to contribute
$1,075 for new Kelowna bridge opening. (on
page 2) ------------------------------------------------------ Bridge Opening - It was agreed that the participating municipalities would provide their financial contributions directly to Kelowna. Westside Council confirmed they will contribute financially by paying for a cake for the celebration. The electoral areas will contribute financially through their area grants in aid allocations and this will be forwarded to Kelowna. (on page 3) |
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Why are politicians throwing party for bridge? April 09, 2008 - Kelowna Capital News To the editor: Re: William Bennett Bridge Our thoughts are filled with global warming, housing for our homeless, food for the tables of the working poor, carbon tax, air pollution etc. Our hackles were raised recently when we read in our local paper that $140,000 of our tax dollars may be spent on congratulating ourselves on building this bridge. Do we really need to degrade our valley with fireworks and a parade of gas guzzling vehicles on the bridge and water? Without a doubt we need the bridge, but please, let’s celebrate our accomplishments in a more environmentally friendly way. Lou and Nancy Joron, Kelowna |
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Reply email from City of Kelowna To OkanaganLakeBC.com: Thank you for your suggestion regarding use of the old bridge.
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GOV NEWS RELEASE The Ministry of Transportation has selected SNC-Lavalin Inc. to design, build, finance and operate the new William R. Bennett Bridge in Kelowna, Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon and local MLAs Rick Thorpe, Sindi Hawkins and Al Horning announced today. “The new toll-free bridge is going to improve safety, while reducing traffic congestion in Kelowna and on the west side,” said Falcon. “This agreement provides good value to taxpayers. Over the 30-year contract, government will save over $16 million in construction, financing, maintenance and rehabilitation costs than if the bridge was delivered by traditional means.” The capital cost of building the bridge is $144.5 million, which is higher than the 2003 estimate of $100 million due to dramatic increases in the cost of construction materials and labour. Concrete and steel prices have risen as much as 50 per cent over the past two years. In addition, fuel prices have risen 30 per cent in the last three months, driving up costs for similar projects throughout North America. Other projects they are working on are:
Source of this snippett is the Ministry of Transportation (click to read more) |
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about tolling the old bridge? Article written by Okanagan Lake BC.com March 17, 2008 The City has been so gung-ho about recycling, so why are they allowing the sinking of the old bridge pontoons into the deepest part of Okanagan Lake BC. and into peoples drinking water and fishes habitat? During the summer, street vendors could be charged a fee for space on the old bridge, and pedestrians could be charged a toll to enter the old bridge. Both ends could have gates installed blocking vehicle traffic. The rent and tolls collected could go to help pay to repair the old bridge and pontoons. Visitors may be attracted to Kelowna just to have a look at the new bridge from the old bridge (a nice stroll from one end of the bridge and back), and the street venders would get more business from the visitors that just want to look at the new bridge. Visitors would not need a boat to view the new bridge construction. If parking is a problem, we do have city buses. The money collected from the street vendors for rent and the money collected from the pedestrian toll could go towards paying to repair the old pontoons and maybe making this bridge a money maker instead of sinking funds. How about we test this idea for one summer, before we actually sink the ship?? *Note* We emailed City of Kelowna and CC the District of Westside with this idea and are waiting for a reply. |
| Charlie Hodge is a veteran of the B.C. community
newspaper industry, having done two tours of duty with the
Capital News, and with Parksville on Vancouver Island, where he
served as an elected municipal council member. Charlie was born
and raised in Kelowna, and today directs a good deal of energy
on issues regarding the environment and the Okanagan music
scene. Solutions to all city’s ills By Charlie Hodge - Kelowna Capital News - March 16, 2008 Seems to me that with a little ‘out of the box’ thinking (or perhaps some plain old ‘out of my mind’ fun) I may have solved Kelowna’s three head-scratching dilemmas at once. Apparently no one can decide what to do with the ‘old ‘(how quickly we forget) floating bridge. Some want to sink it—others to preserve it. Meanwhile, everyone except Kelowna city council has a great idea what should happen to the property that once housed my old school, KSS. (Actually, in honesty—I seldom went in to the school, but I did know the parking lot really, really well). As well, there is growing controversy over how much if anything should be spent on a party to celebrate the new bridge. Some suggest it is important to celebrate the new structure and suggest we need to have red ribbons, dignitaries, cake and fireworks. All three are significant issues of concern and worthy of much gnashing of teeth, gesturing, and yelling. Here’s my spin: The Party: Certainly $140,000 seems like a lot of money to cut a ribbon, drink cheap wine, and watch fireworks. And now that Westbank council has agreed to buy the cake I say forget all the rest of the plans. (Heck we got the cake for free). Tell everyone to bring their own plate and fork, a bottle of their own wine, and some sparklers. I’m sure there is some ribbon around City Hall and if not there are certainly piles and piles of ‘red tape.’ Use that, no one will really know the difference. The bridge: I say keep it and turn it into our own version of San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Problem is there are not many fish in Okanagan Lake anymore, least ways not many you really want to eat. But, hey, never let the facts stand in the way of a good story—or in this case a good marketing ploy. I say we leave the bridge to pedestrians, cyclists, and rollerblading babes (remember—tourists). We can put up all kinds of funky little shops and bistros. Even if the bridge was cut in half we could still use it. In fact it would be rather symbolic of our ability to make decisions here in Kelowna. KSS Property: We could pile all of the old bridge concrete on the site, cover it with dirt, and build a downhill training run for skiers in time for the 2010 Olympics. I’ll bet Premier Gordo would give us a grant for that which we could then use on more studies of the property. If that fails as an idea we could always do what’s been suggested for years now - parkland, affordable housing, shops, but that’s way too practical. The Big Solution To All: We combine all three issues and resolve them with one giant fundraiser. Forget the party fireworks and spend the money on real explosives like TNT or dynamite and we simply blow up the bridge. Prior to the big bang we sell of marked square footages of concrete and put numbers on them. Residents and businesses purchase raffle tickets with the matching numbers ahead of time. Then we load any other large, loose, heavy pieces of the old bridge onto the remaining structure and on these we mark down various ideas for the KSS property. (For example write ‘park’, ‘affordable housing’ ‘outdoor cafe’ ‘place for rich people’, and other ideas on cinder blocks, hunks of metal .... When everything is in place we have a target placed dead centre on the KSS property, direct the explosion at the said piece of land, and let her blow. The owner of the raffle block of cement that lands closes to the bull’s-eye wins the money and the design of the KSS sight is decided by wherever the labelled hunks of junk land. Sort of like ‘pickup sticks’ but not. It’s a win, win, win scenario. No more worries about the money and time of planning the KSS site, no more worries about polluting Okanagan Lake, and no unnecessary money spent on a party. In fact, it would raise money. If we made the raffle a 50-50 draw the city could keep half the money raised. They could put it in a budget for the next new bridge we will need when we quickly discover that the brand new one makes diddly squat in the way of difference. There you are—problems are solved. I’m sure some readers will simply see my suggestion as being a party pooper—but I guess that’s the chance one must take to try and do the right thing and create positive change. P.S .No brains cells were damaged during the writing of this column. |
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Westside opts against seeing tax dollars ‘go up in fireworks’ By Jason Luciw - Kelowna Capital News - March 12, 2008 Although William R. Bennett Bridge is being built to connect Westside and Kelowna, Westside council isn’t willing to contribute much to the $140,000 party planned to officially open the structure. Westside was asked to chip in $6,700, after Kelowna realized it was the only municipality pitching in local governments’ $40,000 commitment for the party. But, Westside has opted to spend only $1,500—for a cake. Coun. Doug Findlater didn’t see the value in contributing $6,700 because Westside hasn’t been invited to sit on the organizing committee. “We haven’t been involved in the planning and are still not involved in the planning. So I have no problem contributing a smaller portion,” he said. Mayor Rosalind Neis defended the Bridge Celebration Advisory Committee stating it was created prior to Westside incorporation and that’s why the municipality hasn’t been involved. She called the cake contribution a “nice gesture.” Westside’s contribution is not surprising given the fact council continues deliberate its first budget and stares huge capital and operational costs in the face. The municipality must consider hiring several more police officers and firefighters and building a new police station and main fire hall. It has also been dealt $4 million in cost overruns for its new arena, Royal LePage Place. Coun. Gord Milsom best summed up the municipality’s money-conscious attitude when he stated $140,000 for a bridge celebration seemed a “bit excessive.” “A smaller party would have been fine,” Milsom commented. Coun. Heather Pilling, a Casa Loma resident, expressed disappointment Westside was unwilling to contribute something more. “There are two sides of the bridge, Westside and Kelowna. It’s important we make a contribution,” Pilling argued. Residents of Casa Loma, Lakeview Heights and West Kelowna will be using the new bridge to access services in Kelowna just as often as they use the Lake Okanagan bridge now, the pro-join Kelowna councillor said. “Residents of West Kelowna, Casa Loma and Lakeview Heights travel this bridge an awful lot. Maybe people from Westbank don’t as much. But, the bridge is important to Westside,” she said. Following council’s discussion on the bridge party Tuesday afternoon, Findlater told the Capital News that he believed it was better Westside contribute to something specific, rather than just throw $6,700 in to the pot. “I don’t want to see tax dollars go up in fireworks. Let the private sector pay for things like that,” he said. Other municipalities and the Central Okanagan Regional District are still considering contributions to the party. So far, Kelowna’s share is down to $38,500, with Westside’s contribution factored in. The B.C. Ministry of Transportation is contributing $40,000, and BC 150 funding is providing another $10,000. Bridge builder SNC Lavalin is contributing $30,000 in cooperation with its six subcontractors. The committee will also seek $20,000 from sponsors. |
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New crossing is a bridge too small Kelowna Capital News - March 16, 2008 To the editor: I agree with John Powell’s recent letter to the editor (Bridge Party Shows City’s Priorities Are Goofy, Capital News, March 2). Our politicians should not be wasting $140,000 on a party to open the William R. Bennett Bridge. It could be much better spent on other things, such as bicycle paths. This bridge is going to have five lanes, which means it will handle 50 per cent more traffic in one direction than in the other direction. This makes no sense at all and shows there has been no planning for the future. If Kelowna city council and the regional district directors had been truly representing the citizens, they would have insisted the provincial government build a six-lane bridge. One would think that after making such a blunder, these politicians would be keeping a very low profile and not making speeches at the grand opening. Let us hope that Westside council has the sense not to contribute any money. E. Craig Westbank (Editor’s note: Westside agreed last week to contribute $1,500 to pay for a large cake for the new bridge celebration.) |
Never doubt the ability of a small group of concerned citizens to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has.
If you have any good ideas of what to do with the old bridge pontoons please fill out the form and let everyone know or contact:
The City of Kelowna - contact Mayor and Councillors
Regional District of Central Okanagan - contact Board of Directors - Photos and contact Regional Board of Directors
District of Westside - contact Mayor and Councillors
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