More beetle-killed timber will be hauled out of a rural area northwest of Prince George in the next two to three years, organizers of a road safety meeting told residents of the Saxton, Ness, Nukko and Reid Lake areas.

The meeting was called to respond to residents’ safety concerns related to log truck and other forestry traffic.

A lot has been done to improve the roads and safety enforcement in the area already, but the province is willing to do more, said MaryAnne Arcand, the manager of the B.C. Forest Safety Council’s forestry TruckSafe program.

Initially, organizers of the meeting held at Nukko Lake elementary school, about 35 kilometres northwest of the city, said representatives of government and industry would be at the meeting.

Carrier Lumber was at the meeting, but no representatives of the Ministry of Transportation, the Ministry of Forests or B.C. Timber Sales were at the meeting.

Organizers said the provincial representatives had been invited but some had conflicts.

Instead, Arcand provided a briefing of road and safety improvements in the area provided by the provincial government agencies. The briefing noted that $9 million had been spent improving roads in the area, that the RCMP and province’s commercial safety officers had stepped up speed enforcement, more signs have been put up, speeds have been reduced on some sections of road and extra maintenance undertaken. Log truck traffic was also being diverted north to the Salmon Forest Service Road and onto Highway 97 whenever possible.

Still, the residents were told to expect log truck and forestry traffic — which includes pickups and service vehicles — to continue during the winters along Saxton Lake, Ness Lake, Chief Lake and Nukko Lake roads.

The rural residents — about 30 people attended the meeting — had continuing safety concerns.

Those included speeding trucks, sections of road they considered too narrow, lack of communication, and sections of road with shoulders that were not wide enough.

Residents cited several log truck spill-overs along Ness Lake Road.

They also said there are situations in which they believe that proper planning is not being done. “We’re fed up,” said Judy Freeburn, who was particularly concerned with speeding.

Organizers suggested that residents start taking down information on speeders themselves.

Freeburn was frustrated that representatives of the government agencies were not at the meeting.

Arlene Ellison, who is particularly concerned about a two-kilometre stretch on Saxton Road, said it needs to be widened. Arcand said she will make that case to Transportation Ministry which has responsibility for the public road.

Arcand said information she received from the ministry indicated there was some resistance from property owners to sell land to the province that would be needed to widen the two-kilometre section of road.

Ellison, who helps run a recreation site at Vivian Lake, was also concerned about log truck and forestry traffic in the summer mixing with recreational vehicles. She was told there would be no log hauling in the summer.

Alf Nunweiler, who has lived in the area for more than three decades, said he’s seen the population quadruple during that time. He said he believed in some cases roads need to be widened as well. “The job is still to be done,” said Nunweiler, a former NDP MLA in the 1970s.