A parliamentary petition proposing a federally funded second route from Penticton to Kelowna has the backing of the local Member of Parliament.
Helena Konanz, who represents the Similkameen—South Okanagan—West Kootenay riding, shared the petition on her social media.
In August, Konanz had also joined Okanagan Lake West-South Kelowna MP Dan Albas and regional MLAs in August for a press conference pushing for an alternative to Highway 97 in the case it has to close again due to an emergency.
The push followed the closure of Highway 97 and 97 C near Peachland due to a wildfire in July.
“I have raised this issue in parliament, so South Okanagan residents can have year-round reliable highway access for medical treatment, for evacuations if needed, or to reach services like airports,” Konanz said in her Jan. 9 post. “The federal government should participate in creating this second option, just as they did when they helped fund upgrades to Highway 97 in the past.”
The petition notes that repeated closures due to landslides, rockfalls, wildfires, accidents, and truck incidents have, in the past, cut off access between Penticton and Kelowna, forcing either lengthy detours or, at times, shutting down travel entirely.
At least three major slides have shut down Highway 97 from Peachland to Summerland between 2019 and 2023, and shortly before the joint press conference in 2025, there was a closure of Highway 97 due to a police incident on the W.R. Bennett Bridge at Kelowna. A bomb threat also shut down the bridge for 11 hours in January, forcing motorists to use the 201 Forest Service Road to try and get around the closure, and even the use of a rescue boat to ferry essential healthcare personnel across Okanagan Lake to Kelowna General Hospital.
While the petition itself calls for a secondary road to be built between Naramata and Kelowna, Konanz followed up her first post to social media by stating that all options, including grading the forest service road that runs from Penticton to Highway 33 near Kelowna, must be kept on the table.
The August press conference also saw a call to pave Forest Service Road 201.
The petition so far has over 1,200 signatures, and will be open to collect more until March 8, 2026.
It can be found on www.ourcommons.ca/petitions under e-7035 (Transportation).