Image Credit: Submitted/City of Penticton

Even though it’s not quite finished, the Okanagan Rail Trail has been a roaring success since it opened in 2018.

West Kelowna is hard at work extending its bike route down Boucherie Road. The Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail construction is gearing up with tremendous public support. The Trail of the Okanagans is hard at work building links from West Kelowna all the way to Osoyoos.

But, when it comes to a 6.7 km multi-use pathway through the middle of Penticton, connecting Okanagan and Skaha Lakes, the gloves have come off.

Even though a year-long survey conducted before the trail was approved found 82% of 1,000 respondents favoured a bike path between the lakes, businesses have always been concerned as parking was lost to cyclists. And social media posts point to high costs and low use of the portion of trail that has now been built.

Certainly, businesses have a legitimate concern about parking. The rail trails and numerous separated bike paths in Kelowna don’t run through business sections or take up parking spaces.

Yet, a study done way back in 2010 showed that businesses actually earned $25 per hour more from cyclists – who stopped and spent more time at their shops – than from motorists who, too often, just drove on by at speed.

“We’re at the start of this journey,” Matt Hopkins, the urban cycling director for Penticton and Area Cycling Association, told iNFOnews.ca. “To me, it (criticism) is not unexpected. When we look back at this thing in five years I think by and large, we will have a different opinion on it.”

Again, back in 2010, the Vancouver Business Improvement Association fought, unsuccessfully, against a bike route on Hornby Street in that city’s downtown. Now they’re an annual sponsor for the Hub Cycling network.

READ MORE: The business case for on-street bike parking in Kamloops, Okanagan cities

Construction of the 6.7 km Lake to Lake bike path began in 2021 with 3.8 km now completed through the downtown core. Work on the final stretch won’t even start until this fall.

Section 4, 3 and 2 are completed.

Image Credit: Submitted/City of Penticton

“The city approved this project in principal but they’ve been building it in phases,” Hopkins said. “They decided not to build it all at once and that saved them money. That’s to be applauded. The down-side to that, the construction is never ending. That downtown section has been, probably, 20-22 months now. If it all was done all at once, people would see the benefit.”

Rather than complain about the estimated $8 million cost of the project ($3.45 million, so far, has come from grants), people could ask those who are already using it.

Hopkins saw a man on a recumbent bike using the pathway just this week.

“If you asked that gentleman if he was happy with that bike lane, I image he would have a different view than certain people on the internet,” Hopkins said. “I think we’ve dignified his ability to get around.”

He pointed to some recent articles in local news outlets about The Hub pub that is gearing up to open this month. It will feature indoor as well as outdoor bike parking to cater to trail users.

“We want to replace car trips with bicycle trips,” Hopkins said. “That’s the point of the route. We’re not thinking of someone simply wanting to go out on a Sunday for a ride and get a little bit of exercise. This is about folks getting from point A to point B. This is about folks getting to school. This is about folks getting to work. This is about folks getting their daily needs met by a bicycle or some other mobility device. Those are the things we want to pursue.”

READ MORE: An ideal ride for the car-free family in Kamloops, Okanagan

As more bike routes are built in the city, there will be more incentives for people to ditch their cars for bikes on many of their trips.

“Keep in mind, it is only one route,” Hopkins said. “Not that many people in the city are going to directly connect to it so, the bigger you build that network, the more people can tie in. The reason we drive so much is because there’s a road that goes in every single street and to every house in Penticton and we have parking everywhere.”

While people have complained about the price tag for the bike route, he pointed out there’s a high cost to building parking spaces as well as for building roads for cars.

“Every element of using a bicycle as opposed to using a car, every single element, is cheaper,” Hopkins said. “The real estate they take up on the road. The maintenance. The insurance. The cost of pollution.”

There is also the visual aspect that should bring out more cyclists.

“Once the thing is done, and other people in Penticton see more and more people using it, they will be encouraged to use it,” Hopkins said. "I don’t know that anyone in the Okanagan Valley is doing something so bold as this. This is all-ages and all-abilities and goes the entire length of this city. This is going to change transportation in the city.”

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