Ride to UBCO to be safer
Paving of old railway to university, opening of John Hindle Drive among projects planned next year
Cyclists bound for UBC Okanagan will have two smooth and safe routes to reach the campus next year.
Paving a path along the abandoned CN rail corridor from Commerce Avenue to UBCO will cost $815,000, according to the City of Kelowna’s 2018 provisional budget.
“The Okanagan Rail Trail will form an important all-ages and abilities walking-cycling connection between downtown, UBCO and points in-between,” states part of the budget document, to be considered Thursday by city council.
About 10,000 students, faculty and support staff are on campus every day between September and May. Cycling and driving to the university from the Glenmore area will also get easier with the long-awaited opening of John Hindle Drive.
Cyclists have long complained about the hazards of trying to reach the campus by cycling along the shoulders of Highway 97, or navigating a route through private properties on Curtis Road.
The 2018 budget includes a 3.6 per cent municipal tax hike, which would translate into an extra $70 a year for the owner of a typical single-family Kelowna home with an assessed value of $640,000.
Capital spending on transportation-related projects is forecast to be $16.6 million, with a mix of initiatives that benefit drivers, transit users, cyclists and pedestrians.
The biggest single-project, at a cost of $2.1 million, is continuation of the Ethel Street active transportation corridor between Sutherland Road and Springfield Road.
Vehicle lanes on other sections of Ethel have been made narrower to accommodate new bike lanes, wider sidewalks and landscaping features.
“I like how Ethel is becoming our very own version of Abbott Street,” area resident Heather McKinley said Sunday, referring to the near-lakeside road a few blocks farther west.
“When the street looks this good, it probably does encourage people to get out and at least walk more, maybe ride a bike to the store instead of drive,” McKinley said.
But a different perspective was offered by Charlie Bernhardt: “I don’t know why this road gets the fancy treatment when a lot of other streets along here don’t even have sidewalks on both sides.”
The second most costly transportation project is $1.9 million to smooth out sharp corners on Stewart Road West in Southeast Kelowna.
The road must be upgraded to handle additional traffic when the South Perimeter Road opens, providing residents of the Upper Mission with a third way into central Kelowna to go along with Gordon Drive and Lakeshore Road.
Routine resurfacing of city streets will cost $3.5 million, while planning for a new pedestrian overpass from Central Green across Harvey Avenue to downtown Kelowna carries a budget of $70,000.