The draft design of the final section of the Lake-to-Lake All Ages and Abilities Route is now available for residents to view and share their feedback.
“The design for the route is generally complete,” said Kristen Dixon, the City’s General Manager of Infrastructure. “Some of the changes, such as the addition of concrete curbs, are needed to meet the standard for an all ages and abilities route. Other changes are proposed to enhance the street such as shifting parking from the west side to the east side in some areas to better align with parking demand, and trading parking for boulevard trees and landscaping in underutilized or non-permitted parking areas. It will mean some change for residents in the area and we are ready to hear from the community on what is being considered.”
The preliminary design is available to view at shapeyourcitypenticton.ca/lake-to-lake. The section along South Main St. is anticipated to be more straightforward than previous sections given the width of the road and the existing bike lanes. The key changes include:
• Introducing concrete curbs to provide separation between vehicles and bikes.
• Switching the bike lane with the parking lane on the west side to eliminate parked vehicles from crossing the bike lane.
• Creating parking pockets on either the west or east sides of the street to better align with parking demands.
• Replacing some sections of underutilized on-street parking with boulevards, trees and rain gardens.
• Introducing ‘floating bus stops’ in place of the existing bus stops and to allow for new stops identified in the Transit Restructure Plan.
• Changing access to the South Main Market to one-way as agreed to with the owners.
• Reducing the speed limit to 30 km/hour between Parmley Place to south of the South Main Market to accommodate the existing school zone, parks and improve safety around the market.
• Adding left turn lanes to remove the bottleneck on South Main St. at Green Ave.
As Council has made the decision to complete the bike route and meet the 'all ages and abilities standard', the focus of the engagement will be on gathering feedback on other features of the design not required to meet the standard such as where the locations of parking pockets, pedestrian crossings, rain gardens and street trees.
Residents can view the design and complete a feedback form online at shapeyourcitypenticton.ca/lake-to-lake. Paper copies are available at the engagement kiosk located at the Penticton Public Library. Anyone who would like to speak to staff about the proposed design can call the Engineering team at (250) 490-2521 or participate in one of the following activities:
Online Information Session
Thursday, July 20, 2023
6:30 pm to 8:00 pm
Register to receive the link at shapeyourcitypenticton.ca
Drop-in Open House
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Penticton Seniors’ Centre
2965 South Main Street
“After two years of consultation on the preferred route, kicking off design consultation on the final section of the Lake-to-Lake brings us to the last step of realizing the full potential of a spine in the City’s cycling network. Users of all ages and abilities will have options when considering how they want to get around Penticton, be it for groceries, commuting or recreation,” said Mayor Julius Bloomfield. “This project expands transportation choices for all users while aligning with the City’s climate action goals to reduce our community’s carbon pollution.”
Residents have until July 30, 2023 to review the design details and share their feedback.
About the Lake-to-Lake Route
The Lake-to-Lake Route is a 6.7 km protected bike lane through the centre of the city intended to make cycling convenient and safe for residents of all ages and abilities. The route was identified following a two-year consultation process. Currently, 3.8 km of the route is complete and 650 m will be completed in 2023 as part of the Point Intersection project. The City is now working on the design of the final section, which will run along South Main St.
The complete route is estimated to cost up to $8 million. This estimate includes all costs associated with the separated bike lanes, intersection and sidewalk improvements, as well as storm system alterations along the route. To date, the City has received $1 million from the Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program (CERIP), $750,000 from the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF), $500,000 from the BC Active Transportation Fund and used $1.35 million from the Canada Community-Building Fund to offset the costs of the project. The City continues to apply for applicable grants.
The route will be the spine in the City’s cycling network and a key part of the City’s shift to a complete transportation system that supports all modes of transportation, helps meet environmental objectives and uses infrastructure wisely.