Funding in place for multi-use trail through West Kelowna's Kalamoir Park
A hiking and cycling connection from the Bennett Bridge to Peachland is shaping up.
The Regional District of Central Okanagan has set aside $311,000 from the provincial Growing Communities Fund to upgrade the Sunnyside and Waterfront trails through Kalamoir Regional Park.
“We’ve not gone through the detailed design yet,” Wayne Darlington, the regional district’s parks planning manager, told iNFOnews.ca. “We definitely need to make improvements for safety. The last time that trail was upgraded was in 2009 and it could use some significant improvements for the safety for all users.”
A master plan is being drafted for the park. It won’t be completed until late this year so actual work on the trail upgrade, as well as other park improvements, won’t start until at least next year.
That plan calls for the trail to be 2.4 metres wide, which will be tough in some areas.
“A big chunk is already fairly wide,” Darlington said. “We’re looking at ways to make improvements without having to do a lot of cut and fill by putting in boardwalks and guard rails and things like that. We’re trying to make safety improvements in a way that should give us the widths that we need in most parts.”
The project will allow cyclist to travel from the end of Campbell Road for 2.2 km to Sunnyside Road. From there, roads and paths connect through Goats Peak Regional Park to Drought Hill north of Peachland.
The Trails of the Okanagans Society is expecting word within the next few weeks on a provincial grant to construct a multi-use trail off the highway to make that hill safely navigable by foot or bike.
READ MORE: Major expansion of Trail of the Okanagans expected next year
That grant has been applied for by the District of Peachland and will be combined with federal funding.
It’s hoped that work will be completed this year.
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