Motorists should expect delays, says organizer

With less than a month to go before the start of the Penticton 2017 ITU Multisport World Championships Festival, the lead organizer is asking city residents for patience.

“We understand that there is going to be a large impact on the community, that sometimes your road might be busier than you expect, sometimes you might not be able to get out of your area or neighbourhood as quickly and as easily as you could on a normal day,” executive director Michael Brown said during a presentation Tuesday to city council.

“But if you can just see past a little bit of frustration, to see that we are putting this festival and this community on the world stage, I think it will far outweigh the negatives.”

The festival goes Aug. 18-27 and will bring with it thousands of visitors, heavy traffic and road closures throughout Penticton and the South Okanagan.

It will bring some eye-popping numbers, too, according to Brown: • 3,600 athletes • 5,200 total event entries • 42 countries represented • $8.6-million economic impact • $300,000 in salaries for local staff • $500,000 in payments to local vendors He also noted that according to a participant survey, the average stay in the area will be seven nights, and the average athlete will bring 1.9 people along for the ride.

“Which means we could have a total of 10,000 visitors in Penticton over those 10 days,” said Brown.

Council separately on Tuesday approved reallocating additional help to the event.

City staff will now provide in-kind services worth $190,000 to the festival, by transferring $65,000 worth of help the city had already budgeted to this coming weekend’s Challenge Penticton triathlon, which is also run by Brown.

Challenge will now receive just $35,000 worth of in-kind help, with an overall $10,000 reduction in aid from the city for both events.