Sound off on bike lanes

Photo: City of Penticton

A rough area for proposed lake-to-lake bike route

The City of Penticton has launched a survey to take the pulse of the community on cycling issues and bike lanes.

The questionnaire is the first step in an engagement program to identify a lake-to-lake route that will allow cyclists to travel through the city. 

“Penticton is prepared to take a big step forward to support safe cycling for all ages and abilities and provide alternate forms of transportation,” says engagement strategist JoAnne Kleb. “This questionnaire will help us understand the community’s readiness to make this change, what issues may need to be addressed and what support may be needed.”

Feedback gathered will be used to develop the engagement program that will determine the lake-to-lake route. The survey will be available at the Penticton Penticton event in Gyro Park Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and online. Paper copies are at city hall until Sept. 21.

In addition to seeking input from interested members of the community who voluntarily complete the questionnaire, the city will also be inviting a random sample of registered members of the shapeyourcitypenticton.ca website to complete a separate version.

“With nearly 5,000 members on the site from all walks of life and a range of interests, the database is becoming more reflective of the general population,” says Kleb. “We are going to take this opportunity to test sampling this group to see how the results compare with those who voluntarily complete the survey. It is a step towards being able to conduct more formal research of the views of the community.”