Controversial Kal Park plan goes to open house

VERNON – The province wants your input on a plan to remove some land from Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park.

The Ministry of Transportation is holding an open house at the end of the month in Vernon to get feedback on plans to take a 30-metre wide right-of-way where Cosens Bay Road crosses the park. The ministry says it’s a question of safety for park and road users.

The number of opponents to the plan is growing.

The Friends of Kal Park is gathering signatures with an online petition in an effort to stop the government’s right-of-way proposal, which it says would “essentially divide Kal Park into two sections.”

Over 750 people have signed the petition so far.

The group is also concerned about the environmental impact from more traffic on Cosens Bay Road.

“Snake dens exist in close proximity to Cosens Bay Road; road kill would become common and snake populations on either side of the road could become genetically isolated. Other wildlife could also be casualties.”

The ministry promises project staff will be on hand at the open house to provide information and answer question, as well as, collect feedback.

The open house will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 27 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Prestige Hotel in Vernon.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Howard Alexander at halexander@infonews.ca or call 250-491-0331. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.