PEACHLAND, B.C. – Proposed changes to Highway 97 through Peachland have divided the community.
While some believe the highway should be re-routed around town, others believe the existing route through town should be four-lane.
Both sides are now represented by organized groups of residents.
The ‘Highway 97 In Place‘ group met Wednesday night to gather support.
“I guess it would be called the silent majority,” said Brenton Froehlich, B.C. Wildlife Federation region 8 president.
Froehlich said those opposed have not been as well organized as the group in favour of a by-pass.
He said the mountain area proposed as a location for the by-pass is home to a fragile ecosystem.
“The area that we live in is home to the largest amount of species at risk in all of British Columbia and the bypass is going to do a lot of damage to habitat that cannot be replaced,” said Froehlich.
Others who came to the meeting for more information were concerned about the cost to taxpayers of maintaining the old route through town.
The provincial government is currently studying options to make the two-lane stretch of Highway 97 through Peachland safer.