Council supports funding increase for Glenmore Active Transportation Corridor

Kelowna City Council has approved a funding request for the Glenmore 4 Active Transportation Corridor.

During this week’s regular meeting, council directed staff to go ahead with amendments to the 2024 Financial Plan to fund a budget “shortfall” for a selection of the project between Dallas and Yates Road.

The former budget was $859,000, however, council was told that additional design work done in 2023 found that road widening, lighting, transit stop adjustments, minor land acquisition and drainage and regrading along portions of Gordon Drive were needed.

All that additional work identified last year resulted in an updated project cost of $1.4 million.

The project would be funded from surpluses from other ATC projects completed in 2023.

The project will:

• connect to the existing 1.9km multi use pathway running north along Glenmore Road

• extend this multi use pathway southward along Glenmore Road from Dallas Road to Ballou Road,

• construct protected bike lanes on Ballou Road from Glenmore Road to Yates Road,

• connect to the existing 1.6km multi use pathway on Yates Road via a short segment of shared on-street lanes, and

• connect to existing bike lanes on Kane Road.

“The Glenmore 4 Active Transportation project seeks to fill in gaps and connect a number of existing facilities within the Glenmore neighbourhood,” staff told council.

“The project is located adjacent to the Glenmore village centre where there is a number of services, an elementary school to the south, Watson Road, and connects existing sections of multi-use that operate sort of the western side of the Glenmore Valley.”

Staff said it would connect to existing buffer bike lanes installed on Kane Road in 2022.

One step closer to connectivity throughout Glenmore

Coun. Luke Stack wondered if this work would provide connectivity for the entire active transportation network through Glenmore.

“I’ve heard some citizens say that the existing path that was built last year is not seeing much use and I’m thinking it may be because it's not connected,” coun. Stack said.

Staff said this section will connect to a section of multi-use path on the western side of Glenmore Road that heads north about 1.9 km north towards Scenic Road.

“There's another existing section on Yates and that extends further south, almost down to Glenmeadows. And so this section would fill that gap and create a quarter that would be in order of sort of three plus kilometres long,” staff said.

“Now, that doesn't complete a sort of all ages and ability network in the Glenmore Valley. We’ve heard some feedback from residents adjacent to the corridor and we have left a section of it in light blue here on the street. It's the quietest section, Yates is quieter than Ballou or Glenmore by a fair margin.”

Staff said there was still a section missing between Glenmeadows Road and the Rail Trail but preliminary studies had been done last year.

However, that project wouldn’t be considered anytime in the near future.

“But once those are completed, you’ll have a continuous all ages and ability cycling corridor all the way from the Rail Trail up all through the Glenmore Valley, to Scenic,” staff said.

Coun. Stack wondered when the asphalt on Glenmeadows Road would be upgraded to make the trail “more friendly.”

Staff said they were aware that it needed to be upgraded and they were looking at additional steps to upgrade several sections throughout the network, including asphalt upgrades.

Staff said they hoped to have the project done by the end of the summer and then collect ridership data over the fall time, which will inform decisions on pavement renewal for pathways and roads in the area.

Coun. Gord Lovegrove thanked them for keeping future upgrades and connectivity in mind.

“I really appreciate bringing this forward and pointing out why continuity will still remain an issue. We’re not there yet for all ages and all abilities,” coun. Lovegrove said.

Coun. Ron Cannan asked what the protected bike lanes would look like on Ballou Road, whether they would be similar to the ones seen along Abbott Street or like Ethel Street.

Staff said there will be bike lanes on each side of the road and would be similar to the bike lanes on Abbott in an effort to leave the curb and gutters where they are while keeping costs lower.

The funding request was supported by a unanimous vote from council.

Thumbnail photo credit: 123rf