Part of the road in the vicinity of Gillies Bay on Texada Island will be widened for recreational purposes.
During a recent Powell River Regional District board meeting, directors unanimously carried a motion. It concurred with the recommendation of the committee of the whole to move forward with partnering with the ministry of transportation and infrastructure (MOTI) to widen the Gillies Bay Road bike/pedestrian path by 1.5 metres as per MOTI standards.
Stan Gisborne, Area B director, asked if the motion should indicate the widening be two metres: 1.5 metres on one side and a half metre on the other.
Mike Wall, manager of community services, said what was being requested in the motion was identifying that the actual pedestrian walkway is built to the standard of 1.5 metres. He added that MOTI is going to increase its vehicular lane to match its standard as well.
Wall said he expected the work to commence within two weeks of the board meeting and completion was anticipated within a two-week time span after that.
In a report to the committee of the whole a week prior to the regional board meeting, Wall stated that in previous meetings, the board heard from objectors to the road widening. A commitment was made to review the proposed alignment. He said the project was reviewed with the MOTI representative and contractor, and both identified the proposed road widening was to go ahead as a one-metre widening. Further discussion and consultation revealed the MOTI minimum standard is 1.5 metres, as per the recent Padgett Road widening project.
This first phase of the project will go from the RCMP station to just past the Gillies Bay store. Wall said this portion has the greatest pedestrian and bicycling traffic. He said further public consultation should then take place in deciding the location and alignment for remaining phases, and commitment of the Community Works Funds to reach Shelter Point.
Cost to the regional district for the first phase is $150,000 plus a $41,500 contribution from MOTI.
