Image Credit: SOURCE/Contributed
April 23, 2013 - 3:27 PM
A section of trail along Mission Creek has now officially been added to the Mission Creek Greenway recreational corridor.
While many people have utilized the 450-metres of trail along the south dyke of Mission Creek between Gordon Drive and Casorso Road over the years, it was not until the Regional District received a legal Statutory Right-of-Way, that this portion of the trail has now officially been added as a part of the Greenway.
Concrete barricades that previously marked the legal end of this trail will soon be removed. Until then, pedestrians, cyclists and other visitors may continue to use the trail unimpeded by the barricades.
The Westbank First Nation has provided a letter to the City of Kelowna authorizing further trail access from Casorso Road through its Reserve No. 8 along the north and south-side creek dykes in order to link up with the now formal south-side Greenway trail through to Gordon Drive. People can access this portion of the trail from the parking area at the Mission Sportsfields, just off Gordon Drive. The new access creates a complete 2.5-kilometre loop trail that people can use on both sides of Mission Creek between Gordon Drive and Casorso Road.
This project is in partnership with the Mission Creek Restoration Initiative and has been funded with a grant from the Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation. It includes the purchase of a 2.7-hectare property adjacent to Mission Creek. The Initiative partnership envisions the property will be used to provide a setback of the creek dyke to re-align and re-establish the creek channel to a more natural, meandering route.
The Regional District’s trail Statutory Right-of-Way and property purchase contribution ($215,000) was funded through the Regional Parks Legacy fund.
The Mission Creek Restoration Initiative partnership is comprised of the Central Okanagan Land Trust, City of Kelowna, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Friends of Mission Creek, BC Ministry of Environment, Okanagan Nation Alliance, Westbank First Nation and the Regional District of Central Okanagan.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013