Lake Country highway connection denied by farm land regulator

Okanagan drivers looking to bypass the highway are familiar with the route through Glenmore and the inevitable Lake Country congestion, but plans to fix the backups may be dead.

The District of Lake Country’s proposal to add a new connection between Glenmore Road and Highway 97 was turned down by the province’s Agricultural Land Commission, according to a recent decision.

It would have extended Commonwealth Road to Glenmore Road, more than a kilometre to the south, reducing daily backups at the Bear Lake Road intersection, easing travel times and making for a safer drive, according to the district’s proposal.

Although the district said it made agreements with current land owners, sacrificing 3.25 hectares of agricultural land wasn’t worth the traffic improvement, according to the commission.

The roughly one-kilometre road would cut through multiple properties, fragmenting at least one parcel. This was the first issue raised by the commission’s Okanagan panel, finding it would create “barriers” for moving machinery or livestock across the new corridor.

“The panel finds that this fragmentation would also create narrow, irregular parcels that may be harder to farm for the present or future landowners,” the June 30 decision reads.

Although the other properties wouldn’t be split, the commission cast skepticism on whether the new roadway would actually improve traffic, suggesting it “may lead to new conflicts” between drivers and farm vehicles.

The three farmed properties in the proposed roadway’s path consist of a combined two hay fields, two orchards and a personal garden, while another property is vacant.

The district proposed the connecting road to the commission earlier this year, but it’s an idea that has been floated for several years and was included in the province’s 2020 Okanagan traffic strategy.

If built, the district’s preliminary plans include a roundabout on Glenmore Road near Chase Road, which would include an exit east toward Highway 97. Designs were expected to be complete by 2027.

According to the district, its population has doubled, along with the Central Okanagan’s, since incorporation 31 years ago. In that time, there have been few major road improvements. This one was billed as a safety and time benefit for drivers, including Lake Country’s agricultural transport trucks that often head toward Kelowna.

It’s not clear how many options the district considered, but it said the Commonwealth connector had the lowest impact on agriculture.