Here is how Kelowna’s new transportation plan will impact you

On a typical day, Kelowna residents travel about 2.6 million kilometres – the equivalent of going to the moon and back three times.

Managing that amount of movement is no simple task but will be made a little easier thanks to the adoption of the 2040 Transportation Master Plan (TMP) by city lawmakers.

The 100-plus page document will help guide how people move around Kelowna for the next 20 years. Five years of engagement helped shape the content and recommendations.

Within it, some ambitious goals, such as doubling transit ridership, quadrupling the number of trips made by bike and reducing the average distance each person drives by 20 per cent.

Currently, people in Kelowna make 85 per cent of their trips by car. The other 15 per cent come via bike, walking or transit. The latter are referred to as sustainable mode sharing. Provincial policy wants to make these means of travel account for 40 per cent of all trips in the province by 2040.

In Kelowna, the TMP expects to push sustainable mode share to 21 per cent by 2030 and 25 per cent by 2040. However, it anticipates some areas of the city will exceed the provincial benchmark.

Downtown, Pandosy and the Capri-Landmark neighbourhoods are forecasted to have 45 per cent of all trips be by bike, walking or transit.

“This really speaks to the importance of focusing growth in our core areas, to shorten those trip distances and make it easier for people to get around using sustainable modes of travel,” Strategic Transportation Planning Manager Mariah VanZeer said.

Another key chapter in the TMP examines the notion of exploring on-demand transit for suburban neighbourhoods. In these communities, common fixed-route transit is not economically viable.

On-demand transit would likely see potential riders hail a bus through a smart phone app. This could bring cost-effective and convenient transit options to the suburbs. VanZeer said the province is studying bringing this type of transit to B.C.

Further policy additions consider ways to reduce bike theft and vehicle idling, and supporting the transition to electric vehicles, among others.

“Whether you primarily drive, bike, or take transit, whether you live in the hillsides or the centre city; there is something in the TMP for everyone,” VanZeer said.

She said TMP investments will make life easier for people in urban cores who want to live car free or have car-lite lifestyles. For those in suburbs or hillside communities, she said getting more people on the bus or on a bike gets them out of their cars, freeing up space on existing roadways. For businesses, fewer personal cars free up space to move goods faster.

Project Highlights

While hundreds of future projects are detailed in the TMP, a few critical upgrades are highlighted.

Atop the list: dedicated transit lanes on Harvey Avenue. About half of the city’s jobs are within a 10-minute walk of the road. While it adds an immediate benefit to move more people on the corridor, it also can protect space for future conversion to light rail or other high-capacity transit.

It’s recommended these lanes are added in tandem with the extension of Clement Avenue from Spall to Highway 33.

More frequent transit service is also key. When the next bus is always expected to come in 15 minutes or less, riders become less concerned with waiting for the bus.

In total, the recommended increases will mean a 65 per cent rise in transit service over the next 20 years.

Of course, road connections are crucial to keeping Kelowna moving. Priority projects in this area include a focus on the Gateway District, which includes UBCO, the airport, and surrounding land. Trips in and out of the Gateway are expected to grow 65 per cent by 2040.

Road upgrades in this area include completing Hollywood Road from McCurdy Road to John Hindle Drive, and the first phase of extending Rutland Road from Old Vernon Road north to the airport.

Improving traffic flow in the Southwest Mission is also highlighted in the plan. This includes improvements along Stewart Road, at the Casorso roundabouts, and along Benvoulin Road.

Elsewhere, widening Glenmore Road to four-lanes and adding a multi-use path between Union and John Hindle are highlighted.

To add an east-west connection through the Landmark district, Sutherland Avenue is slated to be extended from Burtch Road to Spall Road. It will also take pressure off Harvey Avenue and Springfield Road.

Making safer neighbourhood streets, reducing peak hour travel demand, leveraging new technology and reducing barriers to travel are also top of mind.

Paying For It All

As with any plan, ideas are great, but money is needed to put shovels in the ground. Currently, the city spends about $40 million on operating, maintaining, and expanding the transport system.

The TMP, in its entirety, could end up costing around $1 billion over the next 20 years.

Based on feedback, the TMP said residents support an increase in annual transportation funding that works out to an average annual property tax increase of about 0.2 per cent.

While most of the funding does and will continue to come via property taxes, leveraging senior levels of government is also key.

Increased investment is slated across all areas of transportation. The biggest investment boosts will come in transit, maintenance, and making walkable neighborhoods.

Interactive Website

The city is launching a TMP website that will allow residents to easily find what projects are going on in their neighbourhood and any associated information, including timelines and cost. It will also make it easier for city staff to update the plan going forward.