RDCO board approves scaled-back trail widening at Kalamoir Regional Park

Photo: RDCO

Any outcry from some West Kelowna residents about one of their beloved parks did not fall on deaf ears.

The Regional District of Central Okanagan board has approved a scaled-back plan to widen trails in Kalamoir Regional Park.

West Kelowna Mayor Gord Milsom was successful in a motion to change the scope of the Kalamoir Regional Park management plan. Instead of a wholesale widening of all trails in the park, RDCO staff has been instructed to upgrade the Waterfront Trail up to 2.4 metres in width to meet the current multi-use standard and to limit improvements along the steeper Sunnyside Trail to necessary public safety and conservation measures and keep the trail at its current width.

The original proposal was for a 2.4 m trail with a half metre of brush clearing on either side, which faced stiff opposition from people who live nearby, including the Lakeview Heights Community Association and the Friends of Kalamoir Regional Park.

“That width of trail is really an active transportation highway rather than a trail. A 2.4m trail would be much more suitable for this situation," wrote LVHCA president Mark Godlewski in a post on a local Facebook group last month.

"It would fit with the size of the bridges that the RDCO are proposing, and a narrower path would be much more in keeping with the 15 km/h speed limit that they propose for bicycles and e-bikes."

As Mayor Milsom noted during the debate at an RDCO special board meeting on Wednesday, the City of West Kelowna has made active transportation improvements in the community since the park management plan was first proposed.

In the past few years, the city has installed a pathway along Boucherie Road from Green Bay and along the Wine Trail. It has also opened a new emergency access route to connect Casa Loma in case of a wildfire evacuation. He pointed out that both those routes are better options for cyclists looking to travel between Kelowna and West Kelowna.

On the other side of the argument was the Trail of the Okanagans Society, which was formed to advocate for a single, continuous active transportation trail from the U.S. border to the Bennett Bridge. The society is disappointed in the RDCO board’s decision.

“Our society supported the planned path through Kalamoir because it was the RDCO’s chosen route following significant public engagement,” said Janice Liebe, president of the Trail of the Okanagans Society. “West Kelowna approved this alignment when they adopted the Regional Active Transportation Plan. Now, there is no plan for an active transportation spine to connect communities across the Bennett Bridge.”

Liebe suggests there are significant drawbacks to the alternate routes mentioned by Milsom.

“Other connections would involve more elevation gain, be longer, and cost more. They would also shift the financial burden onto West Kelowna and the Westbank First Nation, as the path would no longer be on regional land. The recently completed emergency route from Casa Loma, with an 18% grade, is not a viable option—it fails to meet safety standards for cyclists and pedestrians,” she said.

The trail society is also concerned the RDCO decision contradicts its standards for multi-use trails which state that pathways must align with provincial trail design guidelines. “While some improvements will be made, they will not meet the provincial safety standards for multi-use trails,’ said Liebe.

The president of the Casa Loma Community Association calls the compromise that the RDCO board reached a win-win.

“Now when they link the south end through to the bridge, they will head up through West Kelowna, which will allow West Kelowna to benefit from the tourist dollars and tourist attractions that are all the way the wine tour bike path,” said Jill Rodriguez.

She approves of the plan to make changes along the Waterfront Trail to make it 2.4-metres wide for its full length but points out that the upper rim trail is too steep for easy access.

“I think the idea of putting a guardrail on the Sunnyside Trail is a wonderful idea. It will increase safety there.

“That trail is very much like it’s been cut out of the side of the mountain, but trying to widen that to a super wide trail? I don’t even know what kind of excavation it would take,” said Rodriguez.

She gives credit to RDCO staff for listening to their concerns and tabling an alternate option for the board to consider at Wednesday’s meeting.

Board member and West Kelowna councillor Stephen Johnston voted in favour of the compromise after touring the Sunnyside trail with Mayor Milsom.

He says the new plan will allow for the natural preservation of the sensitive parkland while addressing any significant safety concerns along the Sunnyside Trail.