The City of Kamloops says it plans to eventually build a second roadway in and out of Juniper.

The city’s transportation master plan says that would extend Qu’Appelle Boulevard west, to Rose Hill Road.

Speaking on the inaugural Radio NL Community Townhall, councillor Mike O’Reilly says it’s not as simple as just extending the road.

“If you look at what the road conditions [on Highland Road] were like before we did the upgrades, to add the multi-use path and the three lanes, it was in tough for conditions for how many vehicles were using it. If you go a little bit further west and look at Rose Hill Road, if we put a road through we will have to upgrade Rose Hill Road as well. Including the intersection at the bottom, with Valleyview Drive.”

A caller to the townhall says the second route is needed from a safety standpoint in case of a wildfire.

“From a safety point… there’s a lot of people who are concerned about that. Especially with the growth we’re seeing in Juniper right now,” the caller said.

O’Reilly says for now, there is an unpaved trail that can be used for fire access between Juniper and Rose Hill.