Penticton

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer - Castanet

The City of Penticton is advising the public that work along the West Okanagan Lake waterfront begins this week.

After a year of public consultation and planning, work is beginning on Council’s strategic priority of waterfront enhancement along the western section of Okanagan Lake.

“City staff will be attempting to mitigate the impact on neighbouring residents and businesses as much as possible, and encourage people to contact us if they need assistance,” says Mitch Moroziuk, Director of Operations.

During the first phase of construction, parking, sidewalk and beach access will be impacted, and those who use Lakeshore Drive are encouraged to be aware of signage and barriers.

These measures will ensure public safety around a work site, and are temporary.

Construction will begin in early April, but site preparations are required in advance.

These will likely close sidewalks for periods of time.

Light standards along the walkway on the north side of the street have been turned off, and will be removed in the next day or two.

The removal of impacted trees will begin this week.

The City of Penticton will replace every single tree removed plus 20 more on the West Okanagan Lake waterfront and 20 additional trees at the proposed Marina Way Outlook east of the art gallery.

The City will be holding a meeting in early April to explain the construction project to the community.

Details will be publicized when finalized.

As construction moves ahead, regular project updates will be provided online at www.penticton.ca/waterfront.

Some of the project specifics include:

• Angle parking and two-way traffic are maintained.
• Improved walkway that is consistently four metres wide, and at or near road level along Lakeshore Drive.
• Walkway will be smooth concrete and feature two colours.
• Street lighting along the walkway will be enhanced with energy-efficient LED
• Accessibility: there will be more mobility challenged access to the beach, water and picnic tables with paths and ramps, as well as additional dedicated parking areas for the disabled.
• Peach Plaza: the walkway by The Peach will be widened, and a boardwalk over the water that reconnects with the existing walkway will be built. A thin strip between the roadway and path the length of the boardwalk area will be covered with special permeable material that will help mitigate impact on tree root systems and decrease the amount of maintenance required.
• Power Street: a small plaza feature will be developed, and the walkway would be improved to enhance access for mobility challenged. Angle parking would be dispersed in this one segment, but could be replaced with parallel parking or a drop-off zone. Additional picnic areas could be added here as well.
• The Pines area: this is the only area where the walkway diverts from road level, winding around the trees closer to the beach. More picnic benches will added in this area.

The project has benefitted from a $1.2-million contribution from the Government of Canada Gas Tax Fund.

The West Okanagan Lake project falls under the Vibrant Penticton banner, which has the vision of “Penticton – a vibrant, innovative, adventurous waterfront City focused on sustainability, community and economic opportunity.”