Summerland is on-board with a proposed trail along the Okanagan Lake shore that might one day reach Penticton.
Image Credit: Source/Google
July 31, 2013 - 5:06 AM
SUMMERLAND - A proposed trail should show off Okanagan Lake to hikers and bicyclists Mayor Janice Perrino said.
She said a new trail system is needed to show off the scenery along the lake. The KVR Trail exists but it follows an old rail-line well away from the water.
"The KVR is great and it's great for bikers but this is quite different," Perrino explained, adding what makes the new section unique is the proximity to the water.
"We've talked about doing something like this for years."
The Summerland District will put up $20,000 for a conceptual design plan, Perrino said. Safety issues need to be addressed being close to the water and Highway 97.
Summerland Rotary Club and other groups are also on board with the idea. It will be up to them to raise any funding needed for trail construction.
The trail's first stage would be roughly two kilometres long. The goal is to have a new trail stretching all the way to Penticton.
If the new trail is built it could shorten the distance between the two communities for hikers and cyclers.
It takes three hours to walk the KVR Trail from Penticton to Summerland or one hour on a bicycle according to Google Maps. It would take roughly two hours and 30 minutes to walk a new trail along the Okanagan Lake shore or 42 minutes if using a pedal bike.
To contact a reporter for this story, to send photos or videos, email Shannon Quesnel at squesnel@infotelnews.ca, call 250-488-3065 or tweet @shannonquesnel1
News from © iNFOnews, 2013