The Okanagan Rail Trail: A wonderful idea
Close to 400 people hiked or biked a onekilometre section of the Okanagan Rail Trail during a three-hour introduction last Saturday. One woman using a wheelchair was seen walking her dog.
So you can only imagine how many will regularly visit when all 48.5 kilometres of rail trail are completed between Kelowna and Coldstream.
“Great, super and wonderful” were just some of the many positive comments as the public checked out the rail trail test section between McCarthy and Lodge roads in Lake Country.
Sureway Construction widened the existing trail and laid crushed aggregate, packing it for an incredibly smooth surface on the discontinued CN rail line, thanks to a donation from Dennis O’Rourke and The Chase Wines.
The purpose of the test section is to help determine the methods, costs and schedule for the remainder of the trail.
The open house-style event organized by the Rail Trail Interjurisdictional Development Team included an area of tents with information boards at the south end of the trail near McCarthy Road. It was a chance to interview some of the key players in this community-centered project.
“This is super-special,” said Brad Clements of Vernon, the trail ambassador who spearheaded the Okanagan Rail Trail initiative. “The test section confirmed the process to build the trail since everything was (previously) estimates and drawings on a table.
“We actually got to dig it up; the material they found was better than expected; we couldn’t ask for better material; and the product that you see is absolutely fantastic, great for wheelchairs, strollers, bicycles.
“We couldn't ask for a better trail. So it's kind of set the stage (for the rest of the trail)”.
The community response was phenomenal with almost $5 million donated toward the $7.8-million goal, he noted. During the next eight months, $4 million will be invested in finishing sections of trail in Kelowna and Lake Country with geotechnical reports awaited in the North Okanagan.
“There is quite a bit of geotechnical work to be done in the north so we’ll know how much money has to be spent on that and how much money will be left over to continue with the trail.
“If communities continue to give the way they have, we should be able to raise the rest of the money this year. Then, next year, they can schedule completion of the trail,” said Clements.
He regularly rides the trail beside Kalamalka Lake and says he probably bumps into 100 people on a weekend.
In fact, he rode from his Vernon home to the open house, seeing runners, two young brothers running with their dogs, families on bicycles, an older couple with adult children riding bikes and even a woman in a wheelchair walking her dogs on that 28-kilometre section of trail.
“It was exactly how we’d imagined the trail would be used. I go: ‘It’s not even open and it’s happening.’ It’s fantastic. It was a little bumpy on my cycle-cross bike especially riding at speed; I’ve ridden it lots on my mountain bike with full suspension.
Then, when I hit the test section, I hadn’t ridden a bike on it. I’m like ‘Holy smokes.’ Honestly, I envision if I’m flying out of Kelowna Airport, I’ll ride my bike and leave my bike at the airport instead of parking a car there. Absolutely.”
Thomas Simkins, a design engineer with Urban Systems, is the project manager.
“The reason we selected this section was because it didn’t have any environmental or agricultural permitting. It was free of those type of constraints.
“The challenge for this section was working through the methodology to determine the best means and methods of constructing this efficiently and cost-effectively, working with the contractor to 'let's try this here, let’s move this here, how does this work’ and getting feedback from them. That was critical to this process.”
Three or four different construction methods were used since there is different topography between Kelowna and Coldstream, he said, to build left or right of the rail bed and handle elevation changes. The existing rail bed is three metres wide but the rail trail will be 4.6 metres (15 feet) from side to side.
Urban Systems is now working through a cost analysis but this “fairly straight-forward” one kilometre will likely cost between $55,000 and $60,000 for the so-called earthworks. Road intersection upgrades and rock scaling elsewhere, for example, will add to the total cost.
“The native or in-place material was really good; they imported really good material to build on. So we used that pretty much; we didn't import any material except for the surface. Quite often, larger rocks were bladed off to the side and then we built on top of them.
“We want to get them either off to the side or down low enough that they won’t work their way back up to the surface because they are not a nice walking or riding surface,” he said.
The potential for the whole project is “amazing,” Simkins feels. "A valley-wide corridor for people to either walk, bike or whatever mode they use is amazing for the valley. The fact that this (material) packed up well and the surface is good enough for wheelchairs is amazing. The opportunities for bed-and-breakfasts and bike rentals and wineries are endless."
Rick Fairbairn, another key player, was chairman of the North Okanagan Regional District for the past three years and still represents the rural community of Lumby on the regional board.
“When this initiative first came out, we jumped on board and felt that it was just a terrific opportunity for future generations and what it could mean for tourism because tourism is one of the three main economic drivers in the North Okanagan along with forestry and agriculture.
“So this was a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of that. The dream was to have a trail from Sicamous right down to the border and we are presently engaged with CP Rail to acquire the north section which will complement the dream.
“The trail travels along all those pristine lakes up there; it’s just a tremendous attraction in terms of what it means for the tourist industry,” Fairbairn said.
This (one-kilometre section) is just a beginning; just think of the possibilities. If you look at the numbers that they are predicting in the way of tourist visits, it's a huge opportunity.”
The large number of people at the open house is just an indication of just how much interest there is in the Okanagan Rail Trail, he added.
“Most of us realize where it can go and what it means for the economy of the area. It’s a tremendous boost. The fund-raising has been a tremendous success and there has been just great co-operation of all the people involved.”
At their July 24 meeting, directors with the Regional District of Central Okanagan gave second and third readings to an amendment to the Joe Rich Rural Land Use Bylaw.
The non-profit Joe Rich Sportsman Association, which has operated on the property for 26 years, was seeking consistent zoning for the entire 24.3-hectare property located at 13620 Highway 33.
In 1994, the land use on the eastern half of the parcel was amended to Recreational Commercial to allow the hosting of several events for the B.C. Summer Games.
The owners applied to extend that zoning to the entire property in order to accommodate existing uses such as archery, outdoor survival training and group camping.
Final reading will be considered once approval is received from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
In other business, the regional district board has authorized staff to begin the process of acquiring untitled Crown land to add to Kalamoir Regional Park in West Kelowna. Negotiations with the province will involve 2.2 kilometres of closed road right-of-ways including the former McMillan Boulevard and a portion of Collens Hill Road.
However, in a separate business item, the regional district board did not support a request to provide a statutory right-of-way through Kalamoir Regional Park for an applicant who wanted to construct and maintain stormwater drainage works through the park as part of a rezoning application to the City of West Kelowna.
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Even though the upstream trail from the main entrance to the waterfall viewpoint is closed due to spring flood damage, a salmon festival and interpretation programs will continue to take place on the grassy area of Hardy Falls Regional Park between the main entrance and Highway 97.
The regional district has had to do interpretation programs on the grassy area before when the park was closed due to bear activity, said communications director Bruce Smith.
You can check out displays and watch kokanee salmon spawning in Deep (Peachland) Creek during the Welcome the Kokanee Salmon Festival from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Aug. 20.
Hardy Falls Regional Park is located on Hardy Street just off Highway 97 at the south end of Peachland.
A park interpreter will answer questions about the land-locked salmon that’s a cousin of the sockeye salmon.
For more information, go to the regional district website: regionaldistrict.com/parksevents or contact the Environmental Education Centre for the Okanagan (EECO)at 250-469-6140.