This gate at the Hotel Eldorado will now remain open.

(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)

After two years of court proceedings complicated by COVID, a B.C. Supreme Court decision will keep a controversial waterfront boardwalk in Kelowna open to the public.

The boardwalk crosses the patio of the Hotel Eldorado, which closed a gate giving access to it during COVID restrictions.

The City of Kelowna wanted a permanent injunction to prevent the hotel from closing the gate. An earlier ruling had allowed the gate to be closed when the patio was being used by diners.

READ MORE: Fight over gate at Kelowna’s Hotel Eldorado now before the courts

“B.C. Supreme Court Justice D. Allan Betton refused to issue a permanent injunction noting that the hotel had indicated there would be no unauthorized closures of public access going forward,” says a news release issued today, April 11, by Argus Properties, which owns the hotel.

While they will keep the gate open they argue, in the release, that it’s not safe to do so.

“Throughout this process we have always been driven by a fundamental concern for the health and safety of our hotel guests, staff and members of the public using the boardwalk in front of the hotel,” Rudolf Heider, director of hospitality for Argus Properties, said in the news release.

“The safety issue remains. The boardwalk terminates on the south end at the city boat launch, which over the years has been a source of constant construction and maintenance. We continue to believe accessing the boardwalk at the boat launch is inherently unsafe.

“Additionally, allowing e-bikes and other motorized methods of transportation on the boardwalk is unsafe for pedestrians, hotel guests and our staff. The boardwalk will remain open and in full compliance with the court’s decision.”

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