Highway no longer only road to UBCO
Long-awaited section of John Hindle Drive opens as classes resume
For many of UBC Okanagan’s 10,000 students, faculty and staff, the trip to campus today — whether by bike, car or bus — will be a novel and pleasing experience.
Instead of fighting Highway 97 traffic, they’ll be cruising the more sedate artery of Glenmore Road. And instead of passing a landscape of big-box stores and industrial parks, they’ll approach the university on an undulating road flanked by forests, farms and a pretty lake.
“This is awesome, just spectacular,” said Kevin McCormick, who on Monday was out riding the newly opened, $11.6-million section of John Hindle Drive between Glenmore Road and the UBC campus.
“It’s such a beautiful area, a real hidden gem,” added Karen Winters, another cyclist who was trying out the wide bike and pedestrian path on the new road’s south side. “I think everyone who’s going to the university is going to enjoy this route a lot more than what they’ve had.”
Since it opened in January 1993, when it was known as Okanagan University College, the campus in Kelowna’s far north end has been accessible only via Highway 97.
From the university’s earliest days, there were plans to build a second link via Glenmore Road. But although the distance involved was only two kilometres, those plans were frustrated several times.
There were squabbles with landowners, failed development attempts, rulings by the Agricultural Land Commission and the complexity of a construction project that required the protection of the nearby, environmentally sensitive wetland known as Robert Lake.
The City of Kelowna, the federal government, the provincial government, UBC and the Agricultural Land Commission were all involved in the road’s design and funding. In the end, the city’s contribution was $4.6 million, with Ottawa and Victoria each providing $3.5 million.
“Building this road proved more challenging and took much longer than I first thought it would,” said Coun. Luke Stack, first elected to council in 2008. “(Then), I thought it could be accomplished in four or five years, but here it took 10 years to complete.”
One imaginative and successful argument used by the city to secure provincial funding, Stack recalled, was arguing the new road would diminish traffic at the corner of Highway 97 and Sexsmith Road.
“This implied the highway intersection upgrade there could be simplified, ultimately reducing costs,” Stack said. “City council requested that some of these cost savings be used to help cover the cost of completing John Hindle Drive.
“The Ministry of Transportation saw the wisdom of this proposal and worked with the city to accomplish that end,” Stack said.
From the intersection of Harvey Avenue and Spall Road, the new Glenmore-Hindle route to the university is about 10 kilometres, compared to 11 kilometres using the highway.
Google Maps estimates the difference in driving time at about two or three minutes in favour of John Hindle Drive.