For years highway signage at the Wasa junction has directed southbound travellers to head to Cranbrook and Fernie on Hwy 93/95 through Wasa. It does not give any indication that you can also access Cranbrook through Kimberley.
Mayor Don McCormick wants to change that and directed staff to do a little research into it. A staff report delivered to Council this week indicates that the signage is the way it is because previous Kimberley Council requested it.
According to the staff report, “the Ministry of Transportation will consider installing a new sign, directing motorists towards Kimberley, with messaging to the effect of ‘Cranbrook via Kimberley’, if Council makes a formal request. This sign would not replace the guide sign, but would be additional to the existing directional signs. According to Stephanie Daniels, District Operations Technician, the Ministry of Transportation was prepared to install such a sign some years ago, but was asked not to by Kimberley City Council.”
“A lot of people not from this valley don’t know you can get to Cranbrook through Kimberley,” McCormick said.
He said he didn’t quite understand why previous Council wouldn’t want to suggest accessing Cranbrook via Kimberley, though he suspected it might have to do with the longstanding Kimberley/Cranbrook rivalry. However, times change, and Council agreed that the signage should be altered.
“It’s a really simple thing but sometimes simple things have big outcomes,” McCormick said.
A council resolution will not guarantee that the sign will be installed, but will cause the local Ministry of Transportation branch to request this sign. Final approval for any new signage will come from Ministry of Transportation headquarters.