FILE PHOTO - A lineup of shoppers is seen at the Costco in Kelowna is seen in this undated file photo. The relocation of the Costco store in Kelowna will come with some major road improvements around the site, mostly paid for by Costco.
(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)
April 20, 2021 - 4:00 PM
The relocation of the Costco store in Kelowna will come with some major road improvements around the site, mostly paid for by Costco.
When Kelowna city council agreed to rezone land for the new location at the corner of Springfield and Leckie Roads, it was unclear when the intersection of Leckie Road and Highway 97 would be upgraded to create a double left-turn lane off the highway.
At the time, it was suggested the work could be done after the store opened when traffic studies showed the upgrade was needed.
That changed this week.
“The Leckie Road and Highway 97 intersection was a concern from a volume perspective before the Costco proposal and the Costco proposal only exacerbated that,” Ryan Smith, the city’s community planning manager, told council yesterday, April 19.
“It would be a shame, on opening day, if that intersection was not working that well.”
Council agreed to move the project’s timetable up so the work can be done this year.
The $1.14 million cost of the upgrade will be split three ways based on which entity is considered responsible for the traffic through the intersection.
Costco will pay the biggest share at $473,300, while the province will kick in $200,000. City council agreed to pay $466,000 out of reserve funds to make it happen this year.
The city plans to recover its contribution over the next five years from developers who build in a designated area that includes hundreds of properties flanking Highway 97 between Spall and McCurdy Roads.
The blue dotted line shows the properties that will have to contribute to the cost if the Highway 97-Leckie Road intersection if they develop over the next five years.
Image Credit: Submitted/City of Kelowna
In addition to its share of the highway costs, Costco will also pay for things like four-laning Leckie Road between the highway and Springfield Road, putting a traffic signal at Leckie Road and Parkview Crescent and building a double left-turn lane on Springfield Road turning onto Leckie Road.
At the January public hearing to rezone the site, Costco said it planned to open the new store this fall.
READ MORE: Costco plans to open its new Kelowna store this fall
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