The Juniper Ridge Community Association welcomes the City’s plans to guide residents through a pair of new emergency evacuation routes this Saturday.

The association’s Jennifer Davis says having more than just one way to flee has eased some but not all of the concerns of residents as those routes will be gated, until there is an emergency.

“That has not been super clearly communicated,” Davis said on NL Newsday. “The city’s plan is to have a lead vehicle go through, like they are doing, on the drill, but many residents are still fearful that that lead vehicle will not be able to get up the hill and get to those routes.”

“I think that is just an area where the city could continue to improve making sure that residents know how the gate is going to be unlocked and how that vehicle is going to get there. In all the comments I’ve seen coming to the community association, that is one area where people still have a lot of anxiety.”

The City says emergency responders will head into Juniper Ridge using those new emergency routes unlocking all of the gates while making sure the route is safe with no debris like trees across the road before escorting people away.

They also say residents will be given information – including which escape route to take – so they can evacuate safely and quickly.

Work on these new emergency exits began after the Canada Day fire in Juniper back in 2021. While it did not destroy any properties, a number of people who were trying to flee the flames – particularly from Juniper East – were trapped in their vehicles on Highland Road due to a lack of available escape routes.

The Juniper East exit connects Kicking Horse Drive to Valleyview Drive while the Coldwater Drive emergency route connects to High Canada Place in Rose Hill.

A third emergency exit – on Galore Drive that also connects to Rose Hill – will not be a part of this weekend’s drill, with work on another permanent route connecting Qu’Appelle Boulevard and Rose Hill Road expected to be finished by 2025.

The City’s Communications Manager, Kristen Rodrigue, says there has been a lot of interest in this weekend’s guided tours that will mimic the process that will be used in the event of an emergency.

Fire Chief Ken Uzeloc told Radio NL there are plans for similar evacuation drills in other Kamloops neighbourhoods in the future.

You’ll find more details and a map of the four additional exits from Juniper Ridge here.