With construction on Victoria Street West, the City’s Capital Projects Manager says he respects a decision by the Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc First Nation to limit access on Salish Road to local residents only.

Darren Crundwell says the city has met with the First Nation and he understands why the move was made.

“I think speeding is an issue even when construction isn’t going on in the city or around there, people speeding through there,” he said. ” It’s a wide open road. I think that’s their concern, it was more the speeding, not so much trying to get people out of there.”

Tk’emlúps Chief Roseanne Casimir says the speeding vehicles are a concern to children and seniors who walk on Salish Road, which has no shoulders.

“I think they are monitoring it. I don’t think it’s going to change much between now and the end of this year,” Crundwell added.

“But if things go according to plan, we’re back up to four full lanes this year, so that should be not everything finished, but we will have four lanes of traffic, traffic as usual by the end of October.”

Prior to the restrictions, Casimir says people were asked to “drive like your children live here”, but a number of people were still seen speeding through the area.