FILE PHOTO - A cyclist is seen on the road in Knox Mountain Park in Kelowna, Sept. 27, 2019.
(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)
November 12, 2021 - 11:44 AM
COVID-19 triggered the closure of the road up Kelowna’s Knox Mountain to vehicles in the spring of 2020 and it has stayed closed ever since as thousands of people have taken to hiking and cycling up the roadway.
On Monday, Nov. 15, city staff will recommend the road up the mountain be partially opened to cars next spring for a two-year trial period.
That follows a public consultation process that produced more than 8,100 responses and 4,000 comments with the majority wanting some vehicular traffic options.
Knox Mountain Drive is closed to vehicles each winter between November and March so any reopening won’t happen until the spring.
The staff proposal suggests the road be opened only to the first lookout from noon to 8 p.m. from Wednesday through Saturday.
READ MORE: How a caretaker and a couple of gates transformed this Kelowna park
“This will split the weekend, the week and the day, to provide some flexibility to plan visits for both those by car or those who prefer vehicle free,” states the report going to council. “Staff will monitor the use and may revise the schedules during the trial in response to demand or conditions.”
The road was originally built as a service road so it’s not up to city standards, being only 5.5 metres wide in many places and it has grades that reach more than 20%.
It’s not economically or ecologically viable to upgrade the road, the report says.
From May to October this year, an average of 1,179 people walked or cycled on Knox Mountain Drive each day.
There was an average of 531 pedestrians per day on the Apex Trail, which starts at the base of the mountain and continues to the upper lookout. That’s a 58.2% increase in usage from 2020. April 5, 2021 was the busiest day on the trail with 1,223 hikers.
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