Several members of Prince George City Council met face to face with Premier David Eby and Transport Minister Rob Fleming during Day 2 of the Union of BC Municipalities Conference in Vancouver yesterday (Tuesday).
The city showed its support for the Lheidli T’enneh on a major bridge crossing project along the Fraser River as well as improvements to Landooz Road, both of which are considered crucial in connecting the north side of the reserve.
Garth Frizzell told MyPGNow.com these sit-down sessions often lay the ground work in getting these projects towards the finish line.
“We have re-iterated the request and his team has been looking at ways to help solve that. The bridge is a big ask because it will be federal as well but that Landooz (project) is inside the City of Prince George and it connects up to Lheidli T’enneh so it is something we have to work on together.”
“Both of those are emergency egress points and are central to the north side for Lheidli and when we went to Victoria with the Lheidli T’enneh back in May we were keen on bringing that up with minister Fleming at the time back then.”
Fellow councillor, Brian Skakun added the working relationship with the province is in good shape especially when it comes to securing enough supportive housing units so they can eventually close Moccasin Flats.
“And the province is quite supportive on where we are going in dealing with some of our downtown issues – especially closing down Moccasin Flats. One of the key findings in the court decision that was made a few years ago there had to have been adequate shelter.”
Frizzell concurs with Skakun that all supportive housing units are operational in order for the Lower Patricia Encampment to finally close.
“I am not going to say mission accomplished until we actually have people in the housing that they actually need to be in. At this point, it looks good and we are seeing some progress and councillor Klassen and I toured the Victoria Street facility, which was the old North Star. We see things happening.”
In addition, Skakun mentioned hub cities like Prince George are dealing with rising infrastructure costs, most notably with their roads and surrounding highways.
In a perfect world, he would like to see investment dollars from the province bumped up.
“Highway 16 and 97 is a unique intersection that is getting busier all the time. We have issues with our freeze/thaw asphalt and our infrastructure costs along with snow removal are a lot higher than many northern communities. I am sure the government realizes that but whether or not they are able to commit more money to those challenges but if you don’t ask and you don’t put pressure on them, nothing is going to happen.”
The UBCM Convention wraps up on Friday.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
