Kelowna residents snub regional transportation plan
Almost as many people attended an open house on regional transportation issues in Peachland as in Kelowna.
A total of 60 people were at the session in Peachland, while 63 attended one in Kelowna. Kelowna has more than 25 times the population of Peachland.
Similar numbers attended transportation open houses in Lake Country and in Kelowna-Westbank First Nation.
The relative lack of interest shown in the planning exercise by Kelowna residents likely reflects the fact that the majority of city residents do not venture beyond the municipality's boundaries in their daily travels.
Only nine per cent of trips that originate in Kelowna end up somewhere other than a destination within the city.
By contrast, 42 per cent of all trips that originate in Peachland, the Westside, or Lake Country cross municipal boundaries.
The City of Kelowna is taking the lead on development of a new regional transportation plan, council will be reminded today.
The plan is designed to meet the needs of residents in 2040, when the population of the Central Okanagan is expected to be about 270,000, or 40 per cent more than today.
In addition to the 250 people who attended the open houses, another 630 people completed online surveys.
While the plan authors acknowledge the survey is not in any way statistically significant, they nevertheless suggest some discussion points that they said had the strongest support from survey respondents.
These include: transporting people and goods safely (99 per cent said that was very or moderately important); minimizing energy use, emissions, and travel times (96 per cent); creating a net positive benefit to the community (91 per cent); and minimizing costs to users and taxpayers (90 per cent).