A pedestrian bridge connecting the RC Cotton Trail to Scout Island in Williams Lake is now open.
“I think it’s exciting for the community to see something like this come together,” City chief administrative officer Milo MacDonald said following a soft opening Friday morning.
“It’s obviously an awesome piece of recreational infrastructure and I find when I drive on the highway that I’m looking for it now, so we’ve got some really exciting plans in the future and we’ll see how that goes. We’d love the idea of getting some lighting on the bridge so you can see it at night.”
The bridge that was built with local labor and resources is the first step in completing a 15-kilometer trail from the Fraser River to the shores of Williams Lake on Scout Island according to Mayor Walt Cobb.
He said the next step is the boardwalk project over Williams Creek for which the City has already obtained some grants and applied for others.
The City will be hosting a grand opening celebration for the bridge that will have a Secwepemc name later this spring.
Signs posted at both sides of the bridge indicate that the hours of Scout Island are from 8 a.m. to dusk and ask people to not enter outside of the posted time.
“We just want to make sure that we’re respectful of the needs of Scout Island and that we work with them closely as a partner. So whatever the eventual arrangements are is going to closely reflect the discussions we have with them to make sure that we can protect this beautiful Scout Island as well,” MacDonald said.
A camera system will be installed as well as fencing designed to keep animals and people out of areas identified to be containing knapweed and toadflax.
The bridge that was on budget had 83 percent of its funding come from government grants with the remainder from the City of Williams Lake.
(Listen to City of Williams Lake CAO, Milo MacDonald in the audio file below)