Work underway for wider walks
Elbow room won’t be at such a premium when a wider walkway opens soon in City Park.
Construction of a six-metre wide concrete path around the park’s northwest corner is nearing completion. The old path, which was heaving in places due to age and upward pressure from tree roots, was 3.5 metres wide.
On Monday morning, concrete was being poured in the last sections of the path and landscaping work was being done around its edges. The new path is further back from the trees that line the edge of the sandy beach area.
As part of the $2.1 million project, logs are being anchored into place to help prevent beach erosion from the northerly and westerly winds and water currents. The logs are arranged in the shape of a V, with newly planted willow trees, grasses, and rock in front and behind.
City officials say the bio-engineering system will blunt and dissipate the energy of incoming waves to reduce erosion and encourage the accumulation of sand around them. As the logs decay, the root system of the willow tree is intended to bind with the rocks to create a natural shoreline protection into the future.
“A combination of climate change, human activity, and wave action from both wind and boat wake have led to significant volumes of beach sand being lost into the lake each year,” Todd DeGruchy, senior project manager for the city, said in a Monday release.
“All the upgraded measures will help keep City Park a popular destination for years to come,” he said.
In the future, the city also plans a major redevelopment of the park’s northwest promontory, to include a viewing platform, expanded beach, and circular commons.
The City Park walkway, expected to re-open within two weeks, is by far the most heavily used path in Kelowna.
Between 5,000 and 7,000 walkers and cyclists use the path on a typical summer’s day, but peak usage was 9,141 people on June 18, 2020, as people flocked outdoors after the easing of restrictions during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.