Is now the time to consider light rail in the Okanagan?

With a booming population and growing number of commuters, it’s no wonder people are looking for better ways to get around the city.

And according to at least one lawmaker, funnelling resources into a future regional light rail transit system is not only the best use of money, but also a want of residents.

“You’ve got a commonality of a large group of people that want more sustainable transport … and of that, many who want to get on it,” councillor Gord Lovegrove told Kelowna10.

His comments were spurred by a recent transportation survey that showed over 80 per cent of people want to invest more in sustainable transport and that 30 per cent of people would like to drive less. Another 30 per cent would like to take more public transport options but said it doesn’t work for them right now.

Lovegrove, who has long been an advocate for sustainable transport - and specifically light rail – said the survey results show adequate public support to further pursue greater investments in sustainable transport.

“It’s a real connecting the dots affordability, equity, accessibility argument and the push in the survey echoes all of that,” he said.

Before and during the fall election campaign - where Lovegrove secured his seat as a first term lawmaker – the UBCO associate professor said he spoke with upwards of 10,000 people. In these conversations he’s heard resounding requests for increased transport choices to cut back on driving.

Most often, costs are cited as the barrier to the idea. When asked if it is worth it, Lovegrove says yes.

But it can’t be a project solely driven by the City of Kelowna.

“We need partnerships and that is the secret sauce, working together,” he said.

Valley long line best option

Working as a regional district and spreading a potential rail system over hundreds of kilometres, leveraging an economy of scale, will also ease budgetary concerns, he said.

He envisions a network running from the U.S. border up to Kamloops. Connecting communities, he said, helps buoy ridership, even quadruple it in some cases, by addressing the ‘last mile problem’.

In the Okanagan, low floor trams would have rail lines either run alongside or embedded in traffic lanes, further buffering costs.

Expensive over-head wires are a thing of the past on modern trains, he said. These have been replaced with on-board hydrogen fuel cell batteries that power them.

Lovegrove often cites the German model as one that could be adapted in the Okanagan.

“These are low-cost construction methods and technology,” he explained.

Investing in public transit over additional bridges and lanes helps to remove cars from the road, ultimately leading to reduced congestion and slashed travel times.

The true selling point, he said, is the cost to build a light rail network throughout the valley would be half the price tag of building a new bridge and additional highway lanes.

Bridge not best use of funds

“That bridge would be a half-billion dollars alone,” he said. “And you don’t need to build more roads when you have taken a percentage of the traffic off the roads.”

In the meantime, continuing to build out the bike and multi-use pathway network in Kelowna, as well enhancing bus service, is the best path forward for now.

Lovegrove said the survey results show that as additional bike lanes are added throughout the city, more people are not only cycling around, but becoming more considerate of people who walk and bike.

“More drivers are becoming those same people that bike and walk occasionally, so they have more compassion … for their space on the road,” he said.

With his continued push, as well as vocal support from his colleagues around the table in Ron Cannon and others, Lovegrove has “high hopes” for movement on the file in the next four years.

However, he knows fighting a culture change up and down the valley will be the biggest headwind.

“It is realistic. It is not pie in the sky. It is affordable, and it is the right way to go,” he said. “And we see in the citizen survey people are ready for that change.”