Highway restrictions causing major issues for Big White

• Working to open Highway 3 for non-essential travel
• Gust cancellations from restrictions mount

The continued non-essential ban on travel on highways in B.C. remains a major concern for Big White Ski Resort.

Senior Vice President Michael J. Ballingall told Kelowna10 they continue to have discussions with the government to find a solution for non-essential travel for the large amount of visitors from the Lower Mainland.

“There will be a time for us to have a discussion and to map out a plan where non-essential travel can use Highway 3 at a certain time during the day when it’s safe for those people to come over the pass,” Ballingall said. “Then the rest of the day, be it having 12 or 16 hours as the necessary essential transports, they will be able to use that highway as a gateway to the coast, and a gateway to the rest of Canada.”

On Monday, government officials said non-essential travel is still not allowed on various restricted routes across the province, including Highway 3 between Hope and Princeton.

Ballingall said they’ve now had 172 cancellations from people who were expected to arrive at the resort between now and the end of the Christmas and New Year’s season.

“With the uncertainty of the roads, they’re looking for our guidance and our guidance is you can’t travel until it’s safe to do so. They’re looking for other options in British Columbia or south of the border,” he said. “We’ve let them out of their reservation, and they’ve moved on to book something else where they can travel to because they want to take their family on vacations.”

On Nov. 26, Transportation Minister Rob Fleming called the deadly crash that closed Highway 3 a reminder to drivers to slow down and drive to conditions because those conditions are “far from normal.”

There have been other collisions in recent days.

When asked if some visitors will be concerned about travelling Highway 3, Ballingall believes it remains the best possible route, as it’s the only pathway east of Hope and Princeton to get to through to the rest of the country.

“We’re working very close with the ministry so when it is safe to travel the highway, we want to make sure there’s a system in place where the average consumer can visit friends and family both on the coast, and the in the rest of Canada.”