The City of Kamloops is working on how to improve traffic flow through Dallas, before Pineridge Golf Course is redeveloped into housing.
Planning manager Rod Martin tells NL News more design work still has to be done. But he says the city and Ministry of Transportation are hoping to have a decision made this year on traffic changes.
“The interim would be to improve the off-ramp eastbound into the Dallas Drive neighbourhood. And then do a configuration for the road so that you could come in, and then basically loop around the roundabout and go into the new Pineridge Golf Course development. So we’re looking at a few options on how that could be designed.”
For traffic in Dallas using Nina Place to head westbound on Highway 1 towards the city centre, Martin says that road would stay the same for some time, as he says the city would need to assess projected traffic volumes.
“It may eventually get lights at Dallas and Nina, and then also on the north side of the underpass at Nina, to control traffic and work out timing between the two, to allow better flow of traffic through that area.”
This planning comes as the owner of Pineridge Golf Course is planning to turn the course into housing. Owner Dave Yard told NL News last year construction could start in 2023. Yard had said the development as proposed would have 390 housing units which would be built out over 10 years.
Martin says the city had proposed putting a light at Highway 1 and Holman Road, just to the west of the Pineridge property, but says that plan was revised because the province would not agree to put in an extra light on the highway.
He says the city is also hoping in the long-term, Valleyview Drive could be extended from where is ends in Orchard’s Walk to Dallas Drive.
An extension to Valleyview Drive would likely replace plans for a future Highway 1 bypass between Valleyview and Juniper.
“The Valleyview bypass has been on the books for decades as a potential option that the Ministry of (Transportation) wanted, to help alleviate Valleyview corridor traffic issues,” Martin says. “The plan was to bring it down between the (Pineridge) Golf Course and the end of Orchard’s Walk to meet up with the existing highway. So they’re revisiting that, and if that’s going to come off the books, that would facilitate this frontage road going right through from Dallas to Valleyview Drive, so that you could go through that area without having to go onto the highway.
Martin says all of those plans are “definitely still preliminary” at this point as the city works with the provincial government.
“We think we may have an option that will make highways happy, without resulting in another light on the highway corridor.”
