Blueberry Hill stop light... There may be another stoplight on Highway 99 before long. The municipality is taking steps to install a traffic signal at the intersection of Blueberry Drive and Highway 99 as soon as possible and is pushing the Ministry of Transportation and Highways for approval. The latest traffic numbers have been sent to the ministry, as well as correspondence regarding the gate at Blueberry Drive and Beaver Lane. "I don’t think the ministry will any longer oppose the Blueberry signal," Mayor Ted Nebbeling told council Monday. Wiring for the signal was installed a couple of summers ago. The municipality has the hardware, including a set of light posts and a computer, to run the signal. The hardware was to go at the intersection leading into the new high school, but is not needed yet. Another set of light posts and a computer will be ordered and installed there prior to the school opening next fall. While council members were in agreement over the signal at Highway 99 and Blueberry, Councillor Hugh O’Reilly suggested an overall plan for transportation in the valley is still needed. "I believe transportation in this valley is what employee housing was six years ago — a time bomb," O’Reilly stated. "I don’t think we’ve really addressed an overall transit plan for the valley." O’Reilly suggested the plan should go beyond roads and look at things like satellite parking lots and ways to get people out of their cars. While an overall transportation plan is some ways off, a meeting on the Blueberry Hill gate and the Highway 99 signal is planned for the afternoon of Dec. 9 in the conference centre. Councillor Bill Murray, chair of the Transit Committee, made the point that the committee is not recommending removal of the gate, only opening it to buses.
