Kelowna residents get a sneak peek at Lakeshore re-design

(JULIE WHITTET / iNFOnews.ca)

April 19, 2013 - 7:33 AM

Lakeshore Road is being designed to be visually appealing for all users, with spacious sidewalks and bike lanes - not another Highway 33.

At an open house last night at Manteo Resort last night, the public got a sneak peek at designs for the road and an opportunity to sound their questions with city officials.

Project Manager of Design and Construction, Purvez Irani, says his goal is to make Lakeshore Road not just useful for future needs.

“This is our lakefront road, it will be an attractive transportation corridor,” he says.

Irani says there were many questions about the intersection of Truswell and Lakeshore. He says the re-design will raise Mission Creek bridge well above flooding levels, while also ensuring residents of the River Run subdivision have enough visibility to turn safely onto Lakeshore.

Residents were also wondering how many lanes the road will get in the future.

“The answer is it's a three lane road with a centre turn lane,” Irani says. There will also be a round-about near rotary beach to slow down traffic around the popular destination.

While a few people had tough questions to ask, like how the city plans to reconcile booming development in the area with existing infrastructure, others were interested in particular intersections, and some just curious to take a look.

Carolyn Campbell, a nearby resident, looks forward to seeing her community become more walkable in the coming years.

“For us parking isn't so much a concern because we walk, we chose this community specifically because it's a walkable community,” Campbell says. But she doesn't always feel safe as a pedestrian, especially near the Eldorado Hotel where the sidewalk ends.

“Whenever you want to traverse, you take your chances on the side of the road,” she says.

The new designs look promising.

“We're really looking forward to the dedicated walkways and the beautification, it's a lovely area, to have that green space on the west side of the bride is going to be really, really nice,” she says.

“It's just going to bring a bit of the fun and the vibe that is down on Pandosy a little bit further south.”

To contact the reporter for this story, email Julie Whittet at jwhittet@infotelnews.ca or call (250)718-0428.