By Greg Fry

Merritt mayor still fuming over visitor centre closure

May 24, 2018 | 3:34 PM

MERRITT — Merritt Mayor Neil Menard says travellers seem to be having a hard time adjusting to the closure of the B.C. Visitor Centre at Exit 286, the interchange of Highway 97C and the Coquihalla Highway.

The centre closed for good after 16 years of service in January, a decision made by the previous BC Liberal government.

Menard says it’s not a decision the new NDP government has shown any interest in reversing.

A new information centre is located at Baillie House in Merritt, though Menard says not everyone seems aware of the change. (This despite the fact there is signage directing people to Baillie House at the old site.)

“I check it (the old location) every weekend. I went out on Friday, the start of the long weekend and there were two cars up there and when I went back on Monday in the late afternoon and there were probably 25 cars parked there along both sides of the entrance to the old info booth and we have a road going up the mountain there and there were a bunch of vehicles parked there.”

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Menard complains the location is now a pigsty with garbage “all over the place.”

“We’ve got a serious problem there. We’re trying to get the Department of Highways to keep the place clean because it’s a mess and a disgrace and unfortunately they (travellers) think it’s our fault and we can’t explain to them because we can’t be there 24/7 to tell them it’s not us.”

Menard says the visitor centre was closed because about $2 million worth of repairs were needed — including the need for new washrooms and a sewage system — repairs he argues would have been well worth it.

“We didn’t think it would be a problem when they spent a couple (million) at Loon Lake which is way off the road and people aren’t gonna stop there like they do here.”

In the meantime, Menard says the city plans to open a mobile tourism information centre at Exit 290 by the time the tourist season gains steam in June.