A long-term plan to transform Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 Lower Mill Creek into a connected, nature-friendly park space is moving ahead.
City council endorsed the Lower Mill Creek Linear Park Strategic Plan at it乌鸦传媒檚 July 7 meeting.
The 20-year initiative lays out how the city will restore habitats, improve trails, and make the creek corridor more accessible.
乌鸦传媒淭his is a tremendous job. Tremendous plan, and one more thing to enhance Kelowna for not only visitors but also locals,乌鸦传媒� said Coun. Charlie Hodge.
The plan divides the 7.5-kilometre corridor into 25 sections, each with cost estimates, allowing phased improvements to be blended into the city乌鸦传媒檚 10-year capital plan. Some areas could see action within five years, while others will take longer乌鸦传媒攗p to two decades.
Coun. Luke Stack suggested celebrating these early milestones to raise public awareness.
乌鸦传媒淎s little chunks open up, will there be little celebrations saying this next phase is open so the public is aware?乌鸦传媒� he asked staff.
City landscape architect Keith Pinkoski acknowledged that parts of the corridor could open to the public sooner rather than later.
乌鸦传媒淐ertainly, yes, we can make efforts to have a little bit more of a smaller celebrations for that for sure,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淭hrough the zero to five year timeline, there are several initiatives in there that could be more of a loop and so that they can come online a little bit sooner.乌鸦传媒�
The corridor weaves through some of Kelowna乌鸦传媒檚 busiest neighbourhoods. Much of the trail system will follow existing public land, but in some areas, space is tight. That means walkers and cyclists might need to detour onto nearby streets, especially where properties back directly onto the creek.
乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 gonna be some sections where there just isn乌鸦传媒檛 room to build right up next to it,乌鸦传媒� noted Coun. Rick Webber.
Pinkoski agreed.
乌鸦传媒淚n many instances, that is the case. Where we have the appropriate amount of buffering and where it乌鸦传媒檚 feasible to put the trail乌鸦传媒攖hat乌鸦传媒檚 why we have presented several different sections today.乌鸦传媒�
Pinkoski added that property owners will continue to be consulted throughout the design and construction phases.
乌鸦传媒淎s we get into more of the detailed design and finite routing...we will certainly go in and connect with property owners and residents as we build along.乌鸦传媒�
Accessibility was also a focus for council.
乌鸦传媒淚t may not meet all accessibility guidelines, but it will certainly be something where folks of varying degrees of accessibility can access," Pinkoski noted. "But we乌鸦传媒檒l do the best we can to make it...compliant.乌鸦传媒�
City Manager Doug Gilchrist said Kelowna has a good track record in managing similar projects.
乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 some fantastic examples for our city where we乌鸦传媒檝e built Mission Creek through what was once backyards,乌鸦传媒� he said 乌鸦传媒淏randt乌鸦传媒檚 Creek is a more recent example of where we did that, I think, quite sensitively.乌鸦传媒�
New features along the Mill Creek corridor will include improved trail crossings, shared streets in quieter neighbourhoods, benches, public art, and rain gardens to manage runoff.
