Merritt mayor still hoping to repoen the Visitor Information Centre

Jun 6, 2018 | 5:11 PM

MERRIT, B.C. — For many travellers, the Visitors Information Centre in Merritt was a natural stopping place on their way to or from the Lower Mainland.

Located at the junction of several highways and easily accessible from the Coquihalla, hundreds of visitors would stop at the info centre to stretch their legs, grab some coffee, or learn a little more about their the community they were passing through.

The Information Centre was closed in January by the provincial government due to funding concerns, but Merritt Mayor Neil Menard is hoping to make a case for the province to reopen the centre.

It’s been almost 6 months since the closure of the Visitor Information Centre at the junction of the Coquihalla Highway and the Okanagan Connector in Merritt, but for many travellers, they’re learning about it as they drive up and see the gates to the property are locked.

“I’ve not been through for about a year now,” Jack Lucas of West Kelowna told CFJC Today. “As I say, my wife and I always stop here.

Mayor Neil Menard is also disappointed the province decided to close down the information centre.

“We get those calls on a regular basis asking us why we shut it down,” Menard said. “First of all, we didn’t shut it down, we did everything to try and keep it open. The City of Merrit really just loves this place.”

In January, the province decided keeping the info centre open would be too much of a financial burden. According to Menard, the building is in need of some upgrades.

“The washrooms need to have some work done. The septic field needs to have some work done. It might have been, I don’t know, a couple million dollars,” Menard explained. “For a place like this in a location like this, with five highways coming into this particular area… these people would be happy and this would be a very thriving information booth.”

Menard feels the centre was a gateway into his community.

“A lot of people now know it’s closed, but a lot of people don’t know. It’s a loss for the community,” the mayor said.

For the visitors who used to make the centre a part of their travels throughout the interior, the closure is, at best, an inconvenience, and at worst, will divert visitors away from the Nicola Valley community.

“I think I’m going to press straight on to Hope, now,” Lucas said before departing. “I’m very sorry this has disappeared.”