‘Dysfunctional’ intersection will cost $3M more than originally anticipated
Penticton city council voted Tuesday to delay a decision on whether to construct a multimillion dollar roundabout to help alleviate traffic along one of the city’s busiest, most frustrating traffic corridors.
Council was considering a staff recommendation to include $3.16 million in capital funding in 2023 and 2024 for the project called the Point Intersection, which would include a roundabout on South Main Street at Galt Avenue/Pineview Road to help improve traffic flow.
The project is now more than $3 million over its original budget tabled two years ago. The goal project expenses are now estimated at $10.5 million, up from the $7.39 million as originally budgeted.
The City recently received $7.1 million from the province to complete local infrastructure projects. How that money is used is up to council, but it must be used for infrastructure projects and not operational budgets to reduce municipal taxes.
The project would also include other enhancements of Galt Avenue and a new intersection with Skaha Lake Road, completion of the Lake-to-Lake Bike Route from Kinney Avenue to Galt, asphalt rehabilitation on Warren Avenue and Main Street and improvements to Greenwood Drive sidewalk and traffic calming.
Detailed design for these projects were completed in 2022 and a request for proposal for construction was issued towards the end of last year.
Kristen Dixon, the city’s general manager of infrastructure, said the overall cost increases are associated with extra water and sewer costs, which are not necessarily a component of the roundabout project, but relate to the rehabilitation of those utilities which are due for replacement regardless and should be done with road works to be more efficient, she said.
After Coun. Amelia Boultbee said she could not support a $10-million project which is now $3 million over its original budget, council debated for almost an hour.
After referring the matter to the evening meeting Tuesday, Mayor Julius Bloomfield tabled a motion asking that staff prepare a report detailing all the work and reports affiliated with this project over the past several years to allow council to make a more informed decision at the next meeting in early April.
Because there are three rookie councillors, including Boultbee, Ryan Graham and Isaac Gilbert, Bloomfield suggested council as a whole would benefit from a detailed examination of all the work put into this project, which was first discussed more than a decade ago.
Council unanimously agreed to accept Bloomfield’s motion and this matter will come up for discussion in early April.
Boultbee said she couldn’t support a $10-million capital expenditure only days after council last week approved a 9.5 percent property tax hike, one of the largest in the city’s history.
“Just to be very frank about my reaction to this … it is absolutely shocking to me, the day after we passed a budget with over a nine per cent increase to taxpayers … on our very next agenda, we have a capital project for $10 million, with over $3 million in cost overruns,” said Boultbee, a Kelowna lawyer. “I’ll be honest, I’m opposed to this project at this time.”
She hasn’t heard one local resident tell her this project is top priority, said Boultbee.
“I’ve heard about a lot of random issues and this is not one of them,” she said.
“I’m not remotely persuaded today.” Spending this kind of money on a project she doesn’t deem necessary makes little sense, she said.
Numerous other capital projects have to be prioritized across the city and spending this kind of money a week after approving the 2023 budget with a huge rate hike is not responsible, she said.
Coun. James Miller agreed.
He’s not convinced this roundabout and project are needed considering all the other challenges facing local residents, said Miller.
“I’m not sure if this is an absolute necessity at this time,” he said.
Bloomfield said this project has been on the books for years and it’s time to move forward, despite the cost increases.
“It is a dysfunctional intersection, it’s absolutely dysfunctional,” he said. “Today, anybody who tries to navigate that area, especially at rush hour, it just an exercise in frustration.”
This project should proceed sooner than later as costs will continue to rise, said Dixon.
“There have been all sorts of creative solutions over the years to try and solve the unique road configuration in this area,” said Dixon.
A roundabout on South Main was decided five years ago to be the best solution to improve traffic flow, said Dixon.
Four years ago, the city purchased the old Shielings Motel and relocated several residents to allow for this project to proceed.
The intersection of Kinney Avenue onto Skaha Lake Road and Main Street has room for only a handful of vehicles and has turned this part of town into one of the city’s busiest and most frustrating roadways, said Dixon.
Entering Skaha Lake Road from Galt has also been difficult during rush hour traffic for years, she said.
“It was this combination of issues we called the Point Intersection that we have sought numerous solutions to try to fix,” she said.
The design would close this section of Kinney, reconstructing Galt Avenue and building the roundabout on South Main Street near Galt and Pineview Road.
“This was the best solution to deal with all of the challenges in that area,” she said.
The original project was much smaller in scope, but staff decided the best option would be to improve several other roadways and infrastructure along this corridor, said Dixon. Improvements to Greenwood Drive and Pineview Road are now part of this overall project.
Utility upgrades of $200,000 and purchase of materials such as transformers and other materials at a price tag of $1 million have already taken place, she said.
Three contractors bid to complete all five projects associated with the Point Intersection and the lowest bid was just over $3 million over the original budget projection, said Dixon.