Image credit: CSRD

By Liam Verster-Vernon Matters

Complications

Rail Trail work to proceed in spring, facing issues in Sicamous

Feb 26, 2024 | 5:30 AM

SICAMOUS, B.C. — Work to construct the Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail will resume this year, but the project is facing some hurdles.

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District said a section of the trail along Mara Lake will be developed starting in the spring.

The CSRD said the portion of the trail to be developed would start at the 1.5-kilometre mark, south of the Sicamous Narrows foreshore.

Construction of the first 1.5 km section is still not authorized, as the land it was to be built on is in the District of Sicamous and zoned as residential, and a motion to rezone it to parkland at the Sicamous Council meeting Feb. 14 was defeated by a vote of four to three.

Additionally, the CSRD said many private property owners north of Sicamous have installed docks that partially encroach on what would be the 30-metre-wide rail trail corridor, and as of time of publication, they had not obtained authorization to legitimize their foreshore use. In response, the partners involved in the Rail Trail (Columbia Shuswap Regional District, Splatsin té Secwépemc and the Regional District of North Okanagan) will be advising the province that the dock owners do not own the land.

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The CSRD said construction activities of the planned section would begin at the 1.5 km mark and move southwards along Mara Lake. The rail trail partners are investigating alternative trailhead parking options.

The CSRD did not provide timeline details for the construction of the trail.