Courtenay’s mayor says the 6th Street Bridge project will continue despite concerns expressed by MLA Brennan Day.
On Thursday, Courtenay-Comox MLA Brennan Day released an open letter expressing concerns over the 6th Street Active Transportation Bridge project, an initiative to give cyclists and pedestrians people-powered transportation connections from the bottom of 6th Street to Simms Millenium Park.
With the project’s cost going from $6.9 million to now $11.2 million, Day asks why the mayor and council haven’t paused the project.
“I support infrastructure that is both future-focused and fiscally responsible, something we badly need here in the Comox Valley, but this project is neither,” said Day.
“At a time when local families are making tough choices, and both senior levels of government are facing staggering deficits, this is not the moment for discretionary spending.”
Along with the cost increase, Day says factors like inflation, tariffs, borrowing rates, and the elimination of the BC carbon tax add onto his concerns for the project’s viability.
As a result, he recommends council take a second look at the project’s viability in light of issues like inflation and tariffs.
City mayor Bob Wells says he is disappointed that Day didn’t reach out to him or council to talk about these concerns before the letter came out.
“I get he’s coming from a perspective of the provincial side of things, and municipalities are bit of a different beast, but I can acknowledge his concerns,” said Wells.
“At the end of the day, it’s sitting down and going through it, and trying to come up with an outcome that maybe he won’t support but can understand how we got here.”
Wells says it is very unfortunate the costs of the project have gone up, but from his experience with other projects, he adds waiting is not the right choice when trying to lower the cost of a project.
He hopes they and Day can have much more open dialogue where they can talk about these issues directly.
“There’s always going to be disagreements, but we can have those conversations, see how we can support each other. When we can support each other, make sure that that’s where we are putting the bulk of our energies so we can have as healthy of a relationship as possible.”
