Construction is underway on Pemberton’s multi-modal transport hub. The long-awaited hub is being built on Portage Road, east of Signal Hill Elementary.
The Village of Pemberton (VOP) received just over $1.8 million for the project through the province’s Rural and Northern Communities Infrastructure Program in 2022. At a closed meeting on Tuesday, April 30, council awarded the contract to CATA Management Ltd.
When completed, the hub will include a 50-car parking lot, washroom and change room facilities, water fountains, bike storage, garbage receptacles, and electric-vehicle chargers.
Available to commuters seven days a week, 365 days a year, the parking lot facility will also be available for ride-sharing and regional-transit use, and plans include bays for BC Transit buses as a second phase to the project—if funding allows.
At a regular meeting on Tuesday, May 28, council discussed topics local officials would like raised at the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) convention in Vancouver, slated for Sept. 16 to 20.
Among the priorities is advocating for provincial funding of active transportation planning and infrastructure.
A VOP staff report noted a past federal initiative by Infrastructure Canada provided funding of up to 50 per cent of the cost of active transportation planning and infrastructure and allowed stacking of federal and provincial grant funding up to 100 per cent of eligible costs. The province currently offers grant funding for planning and infrastructure projects under the BC Active Transportation Infrastructure Grants program, which is based on a cost-sharing model. Local governments contribute a minimum of 50 per cent of network-planning costs and between 20 and 50 per cent of infrastructure project costs.
However, the VOP stressed the cost-sharing model keeps the development of a complete active transportation network out of reach for small communities. Staff proposed a resolution seeking 100 per cent funding of active transportation network planning and infrastructure projects for communities with a population of less than 15,000.
The issue will be raised with provincial officials at UBCM in September.
