Wine route expansion to be decided today

A proposed multimillion-dollar expansion of West Kelowna’s Wine Trail, to be decided today by city council, has aroused strong feelings in the community.

Supporters say the planned improvements to Boucherie Road will be visually appealing, good for business and promote safety. But critics decry the projected cost, of up to $8.8 million, as a foolish expense given other municipal priorities.

“You folks do not seem to have any idea how to prioritize. Spending $8.5 million is so insane that it is beyond belief,” Shannon Lake resident Reg Ralph writes in a letter to council.

Other critics say the projected cost is excessive for road improvements that total just over one kilometre in length.

But owners of businesses along Boucherie Road, as well as the Greater Westside Board of Trade, endorse the Wine Trail’s further development.

“Watching the influx of five new wineries along the Boucherie Road corridor grow so quickly, now is the time to invest monies into infrastructure upgrades,” says Norm LeCavalier of the board of trade.

“The initial redevelopment of Boucherie Road and Phase 1 of the Wine Route not only saw improvements and beautification to the roadway, but more importantly it began a process of developing a sense of place and identity that our community hadn’t seen before,” Tina Slamka of Little Straw Vineyards writes to council.

Planned improvements include two new roundabouts, bike lanes, wider sidewalks, decorative lampposts, new landscaping and various utility upgrades.

Council has to decide whether to approve the Boucherie Road upgrades, between Stuart Road and Stevenson Road at a cost of $6.7 million, or do the work over a slightly longer stretch, between Stuart Road and Ogden Road, at a cost of $8.7 million.

Council also may choose simply to defer the project until 2019.