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Chase developing active transportation plan

Village also seeking feedback for on-road golf cart pilot project
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Chase Mayor Rick Berrigan and Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone arrive to the announcement the village’s golf cart pilot project in a golf cart. (File photo)

The Village of Chase is fact finding about how people prefer to get around.

A survey posted on the village’s website is a key part of the public engagement that will go into developing an active transportation plan.

Chase corporate officer Sean O’Flaherty said the village received a $30,000 BC Healthy Communities grant to fund the creation of a plan that will guide projects intended to make Chase a better place for pedestrians and cyclists.

The plan is being created by Alta Planning and Design Inc.

O’Flaherty said Chase is responding to a demand for alternative options which challenge dependency on automobiles.

“People are thirsty for more active transportation options,” O’Flaherty said.

Related: No bike ban on all Chase sidewalks

Along with the survey on the website, O’Flaherty said village planners have been asking for feedback at public events and have hosted an open house. He added that Interior Health and ICBC collision data will be taken into account in the plan.

O’Flaherty added that once a plan is in place, it can be leveraged into grant funding to pay for projects that will improve the experience for pedestrians and cyclists in Chase. He said that connections to nearby hiking trails and neighbouring First Nations communities will be priorities of the plan.

The survey on the village’s website asks about respondents’ transportation habits and the barriers that are keeping them from walking or cycling more. It also asks what they think the top priorities for future transportation investment should be.

Related: Golf carts to hit the streets of Chase

O’Flaherty said public engagement on the project will wrap up in September and a draft plan will be ready in October or November.

Public opinion on another transportation initiative in Chase, the nearly two-year-old golf cart pilot project, is also being gauged with an online survey. Village residents are being asked how successful they think the project has been and if they support its continuation.

“In our minds its a complete success,” O’Flaherty said.

The village sold just over 20 permits allowing golf carts to travel on village streets with some conditions both years the pilot project has been running.

O’Flaherty said the results of the survey and possible continuation of the pilot project will be discussed at Chase council meetings in the fall.


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jim.elliot@saobserver.net

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Jim Elliot

About the Author: Jim Elliot

I’m a B.C. transplant here in Whitehorse at The News telling stories about the Yukon's people, environment, and culture.
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