City of Penticton entering final design phase for last leg of bike lane

Photo: City of Penticton

Penticton's lake-to-lake bike lane has reached the design stage for its final phase.

The remaining section will continue the route from Galt Avenue at South Main Street all the way to Skaha Lake Park.

"This section is anticipated to be more straightforward than the first few sections because of the existing painted bike lanes, generous road width and limited number of driveways,” said Kristen Dixon, the city’s general manager of infrastructure.

“We recognize there will need to be special consideration of the design at a few locations, and we will work with affected property owners and other stakeholders to come up with the best possible design for everyone.”

Discussions with affected property owners and stakeholders are now underway.

Members of the community will have an opportunity to discuss the design at upcoming open houses, once the draft is completed and shared on shapeyourcitypenticton.ca. Addresses along the route will also automatically receive information about open houses.

“We’ve heard the concerns and feedback following the completion of the first phases and hope to apply some of these lessons in this final section where possible,” said Dixon.

“We encourage residents to share their feedback when the draft design is ready.”

The complete route is expected to cost up to $8 million, including all costs associated with the separated bike lanes, intersection and sidewalk improvements, as well as storm system alterations along the route.

Not all of the cost is being borne by the city. To date, the municipality has received $1 million from the Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program (CERIP), $750,000 from the Canada Community Revitalization Fund (CCRF), and used $1.2 million from the Canada Community-Building Fund to offset the costs of the project.

The city plans to continue applying for grants as they become available.