Phase 2 of City Park upgrades coming soon

While the City of Kelowna says it will start work on improvements to City Park in the fall, it also wants to hear from the public about its plans.

The upcoming work, the second phase of an improvement plan for the park that started in 2010, will include surface improvements to the path between the two washrooms in the park to make it smoother, wider and more accessible. Stabilization of the park’s shoreline along Hot Sands Beach, using logs, will also be done to prevent further erosion.

The work is slated to start after Labour Day. Future work in the park, to be done in additional phases, could include building a pier, creating what the city calls a “gathering circle” and building a new playground, if a grant applied for by the city comes through. If Kelowna gets the grant, that work would start in 2023.

In addition, the city says active transportation will be a highlight in the next three phases of work on the park, including a network of cycle-only paths that will separate cyclists and pedestrians. Those phases will proceed as funding becomes available.

Phase 1 improvements for the park were fast-tracked in 2010 to coincide with construction of the William R. Bennett Bridge. Back then, the path from the new bridge to Hot Sands Beach was completed. The city then undertook a planning exercise for City Park in 2013 to help guide infrastructure decisions and make recommendations for further improvements.

Information about the plans for City Park is available at getinvolved.kelowna.ca. Visitors can go to the site and comment on the designs, share their favourite things to do in City Park and post questions and make suggestions.