Knox Mountain Dr. to reopen to traffic, with restrictions

After a lengthy but pleasant back-and-forth between Kelowna lawmakers, Knox Mountain Drive will reopen to vehicles next spring, but with restrictions.

Access will be limited to the first lookout between noon and 8 p.m. daily for a two-year trial.

It was a compromise among city council, after staff recommended tighter restrictions, suggesting just Wednesday to Saturday.

This was backed by results from a survey of over 8,100 people, showing opening the road to the first lookout was preferred.

But lawmakers branded this recommendation as cumbersome, unpredictable, and a disservice to seniors and those with mobility issues who enjoy the view.

“We have a very large percentage of our population that are seniors that have limited mobility,” Coun. Charlie Hodge said.

He shared this view with most of his colleagues around the council table.

But Coun. Gail Given applauded the compromise staff settled on. She noted the wide support for road closure and hour restrictions in the survey, as well as inboxes full of support for a road closure when the survey was first launched.

She said people were concerned about air quality, climate change, and safety around vehicles and pedestrians on the steep, narrow road.

“I think narrowing [the time] when the vehicles will be travelling on the roadway leaves people who actually want to access it not by vehicle, a time when they can feel safe to get up,” she said.

Mayor Colin Basran agreed, pitching the eventual agreed upon solution. He didn’t believe it to be a radical change to restrict early morning access to the hill to vehicles when joggers and cyclists tend to be on the road.

Coun. Ryan Donn made a separate motion to have the road hours restricted but with access to the second lookout. It was defeated, with concerns cited about capital upgrades required to make the road more accessible.

The road was closed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to allow more space for walkers and cyclists. Since then, pedestrian counts are up over 50 per cent year-over-year, with about 1,000 people using the hill each day, according to a city report.

Knox Mountain Drive is closed annually from November to around March, and usually a few months in the summer when the fire danger reaches extreme.