Silver Star Road, site of multi-use pathway construction. (Vernon Matters file photo)

By Liam Verster

Silver Star Road

Vernon looks to acquire road dedication for multi-use pathway, work to have more impact on traffic

Aug 17, 2023 | 11:30 AM

The City of Vernon is working to acquiring small portions of properties as road dedications for the Silver Star multi-use pathway.

At its regular meeting Monday, Vernon council was presented a report that recommended directing staff to take the necessary action to acquire areas to be dedicated as roads by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and subsequently consolidated with City of Vernon vested Silver Star Road through a boundary redefinition.

The areas the city aims to acquire and dedicate as roads are portions of the properties listed below:

The areas in green are the portions of properties the City of Vernon aims to acquire as road dedications for the Silver Star Rd. multi-use pathway (image courtesy of the City of Vernon)

Council grants

Vernon to distribute over $50k in Council Discretionary Grants, $20K to the food bank

17h ago

Possible firearm involved

One person apprehended in connection with suspicious activity in Coldstream

Dec 13, 2025

Fatal Collision, Highway Closed

One person dead in crash near Revelstoke

Dec 13, 2025

The report stated “purchase and sale agreements have been fully executed with all property owners and charge holders for the dedication of the acquisition areas as roads.”

The aforementioned roads are within the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO), which are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. The city’s report stated administration has already submitted an application to the ministry to approve the road dedication of the acquisition areas.

The next step would be to have city staff propose a written commitment to the ministry that would have the city assume responsibility of the operation, maintenance and liability of the road shards in exchange for the dedication of the acquisition areas, though the province did provide some feedback, saying the proposal as a long term solution was unsatisfactory.

However, the report did state the ministry “tentatively indicated that they would support the dedication of the acquisition areas as road if the city committed to pursuing a boundary redefinition which would bring the road shards into the city’s jurisdiction as well as assume responsibility for their operation, maintenance and liability during the interim period.”

Council voted unanimously in favour of pursuing the acquisition of the area land.

Meanwhile, progress continues to be made on the second phase of the Silver Star multi-use pathway between Pleasant Valle Road by Butcher Boys, to BX School.

City staff say the work to build the path is ongoing, and that upcoming construction will create more impacts to traffic.

Motorists travelling through the area will see a section of Silver Star Road reduced to a single lane as construction crews work between L&A Road and the Silver Star Gateway Business Park.

A detour for traffic heading south and west on Silver Star Road will be transitioning to 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. This is expected to take effect as early as next week (August 21) and will could stay in place until October.

Traffic heading north and east will continue to be able to use Silver Star Road, though motorists may experience some travel delays.

The city stated project teams will monitor the detour route as construction progress and will be adjusting signage and flaggers as necessary.

Residents in the area are asked to be cautious when entering and exiting their properties, and all motorists are reminded to slow down in construction zones, follow detour routes, and obey all traffic control measures.

Also at the Monday’s meeting, Councillor Kari Gares stated some people had expressed issues with the portion of the pathway between BX Elementary and Blackcomb Way being “pitch black” at night and wanted to know if lighting would be installed along that section.

Ellen Croy, transportation manager for the city, told council she was unsure of any planned lighting but noted “we would generally follow our Subdivision and Development Servicing Bylaw on lighting requirements, so we can confirm back with an [administration] update.”

Gares added the feedback from people who have used the path has generally been positive, but there still have been concerns with lighting in the area overnight that should be addressed.