Media Coverage

Trail of the Okanagans

Kelowna News

Okanagan cycling advocate calls on province to design, fund bike trail networks

A specially designed staircase with a rail for bicycles is a vital cycling link between West Kelowna and Peachland and, ultimately, from Sicmous to Osoyoos and beyond. While cheering the fact that construction has started on the staircase, the president of the Trail of the Okanagans Society says the province has to get way more involved in designing and funding what’s known as active transportation. “If the goal, in the long term, is to have active transportation have a much greater modal share, then the infrastructure has to be there,” Janice Liebe told iNFonews.ca. “When the government designs transportation, they design them as networks and that’s not the approach they are taking to active transportation. We want to add to that conversation saying, if you want active transportation to be successful, you have to consider it as a network. You have to design and fund it that way too.”

The Trail of the Okanagans Society is working to complete the southern part of what is hoped to be a mostly rail trail from Sicamous to Osoyoos. Its focus right now is two-fold – connecting communities from the south heading north and cementing a safe cycling route between the Bennett bridge in West Kelowna to Peachland. Last month, the Regional District of Central Okanagan announced it bought land north of the Goats Peak Regional Park. That’s now part of the park and work is underway to connect the exiting park pathway down to the Gellatly Nut Farm.

That includes a stairway up the steep slope on the north side of Goats Peak with a rail on one side to make it easier for cyclists to push their bikes up and down. Construction has started and is expected to be finished this summer.

There is still work to be done through West Kelowna where the trail is expected to mostly follow Boucherie Road. The bike path on parts of that road is, at times, only on one side of the road and does not meet provincial guidelines for width safety. On the south side, Goats Peak’s Sagebrush Trail ends at the intersection of Seclusion Bay Road and Highway 97. The society has applied for more than $500,000 in government grants to build a trail down the side of Drought Hill to Buchanan Road. The total estimated cost is just under $600,000 so more grant applications are in the works.

“This is the section we said is the most expensive per linear metre between West Kelowna and the American border,” Liebe said.

If the funding comes through, she hopes construction can start next spring for completion before the end of the summer. The grant process is part of the problem with the way bike paths are funded, Liebe pointed out. Numerous groups and municipalities in B.C., and across the county, are competing for the same money from the federal and provincial funding programs. That’s where treating bike paths as part of a transportation network comes in, especially when it comes to highway crossings. Too often they’re being designed without cyclists in mind so municipalities are faced with the costs themselves or competing with non-profit groups for scarce funding. An example of that is in Kelowna. The city received a $2.4 million federal infrastructure grant to connect the Houghton Road cycling route in Rutland to the Okanagan Rail Trail, across Highway 97, even though that part of the highway was redesigned and expanded fairly recently. Work on that project is expected to start in June and be completed in October.

That’s an example of the “catch-up” that cycling advocates are faced with because such crossings are not included in highways projects.

“Currently, even though the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure are responsible for active transportation, they’re going through an evolution of incorporating the principles that they actually authored through the B.C. Active Transportation Design Guidelines,” Liebe said. “They currently do not include those as part of intersection upgrades so it’s up to communities to advocate for that and/or having to pay for and play catchup after those intersections are designed.” It is even more challenging in rural areas of the province, she said. “If you’re designing an active transportation program for the province, it’s one thing to say, hey, let's connect a bunch of communities in urban Vancouver or Victoria,” Liebe said. “But, in rural communities, we’re really talking about active transportation between communities and it becomes more complex because you’re now moving outside the municipal boundaries. Often, you’re crossing either Crown land or First Nations reserves or regional parks so the conversations become much more complex.”

The focus of the group is to connect communities with safe routes that provide a destination, rather than having bits and pieces built that may, some day, connect with others. “We’d like to be able to see programs that focus on connecting communities that are less than 25 kilometres apart, because that’s a good range to cycle, there and back, and enough for people to commute between communities,” Liebe said. “A good example of that is, when the Okanagan Rail Trail opened and they met their five year projections in the first six months, that really showed what the latent demand is for cycling,” she continued. “The reason that was so successful, even though that trail is not fully connected yet, is that it had lengths of trail that were meaningful to ride on and got you from place to place. We feel, as a strategy, if we build longer sections of trail that get people out riding, it will demonstrate the desire and build the voice for the trail in the South Okanagan.”

VIDEO: Trail of the Okanagans bike path from Sicamous to Washington making progress

Okanagan posted Apr 29, 2022 @ 06:40pm by Sarah Jones

It’s been in the works for a number of years, a hiking and cycling trail that spans the length of the Okanagan Valley and across the US border. The vision is straightforward, a single 370 km trail starting up in Sicamous, BC and travelling down the valley into Brewster, Washington. Trail of the Okanagans plans to trace traditional trading routes of the Okanagan First Nations that will skirt along lake edges, wander through forests and hillsides, borders vineyards and fruit orchards. With over 100 existing paths already in the area, the goal is to connect and merge them into one large spine.

At this time members are specifically focused on bridging the 125 km section between Bennett Bridge in Kelowna down to Osoyoos.

“About 75% of the section between West Kelowna and Osoyoos is currently connected, and about 25% of that is to what we call an ‘all ages and abilities standard’. We’d like to see all 125 km to that standard,” explains Janice Liebe, President of the Trail of the Okanagans. “There are a number of gaps. Pieces in the Vaseux Lake area, pieces around Penticton, but our strategy is to sort of work from the south; from Osoyoos up to Gallagher Lake and from West Kelowna connecting to Peachland.” Recently the Trail of the Okanagans has made major progress with help from the Gellatly Bay Trails and Parks Society. Read full article here:

Two regional parks in West Kelowna grow through land purchases. Regional parks growing

Victoria Femia - Mar 1, 2022 / 12:47 pm |

The Regional District of Central Okanagan is announcing the purchase of two properties that will expand regional parks and connect them to nearby neighbourhoods. A new 10.6 hectare property at the end of Whitworth Road has been purchased for $2.2 million and will be added to Goats Peak Regional Park. The area that is expected to open late this summer, will provide legal access from Whitworth Road and a connection for Gellatly Nut Farm Regional Park. The RDCO says this acquisition will ensure critical ecosystems, habitat, species at risk and important First Nations values are protected while providing opportunities for planned trail connections.

Full article: https://www.castanet.net/news/West-Kelowna/361462/2-regional-parks-in-West-Kelowna-grow-through-land-purchases?fbclid=IwAR33HVUSEnWKtg1zZkoPHuQJzjg-cG4bQAslaWqbDdjqOSx-Y9P4ZLvxqVs#361462

Kelowna News

Major connection along Trail of the Okanagans to open this summer

Rob Munro

A 26-acre land purchase by the regional district will formally connect Goats Peak Regional Park with Whitworth Road in West Kelowna. The land purchase was announced by the Regional District of the Central Okanagan today, March 1. “It’s going to be an amazing portion of our regional parks system,” Wayne Darlington, the regional district’s parks planning manager, told iNFOnews.ca. “The expansion of Goats Peak is a pretty amazing piece of land that protects cultural and ecological interests in our area, so it’s awesome.” The 128-acre Goats Peak park was opened in September 2019, but the trail down into West Kelowna was fenced off since it ran through private property.

This shows the new parkland in the yellow hatched section. the red line is the existing trail network in Goats Peak Regional Park.

Image Credit: Submitted/Regional District of Central Okanagan

With the help of the federal government, the regional district bought the land for $2.2 million and will spend the next few months to get it ready for public use, hopefully by early summer. While the trail itself is in fairly good shape, the connection to Whitworth Road is rough and requires some scrambling over loose rocks up a cliff, Darlington said. The plan is to build about 15 stairs up the cliff with a “bike rail” attached. “You put your bike in the rail and it holds your tire on the rail so it’s easier to push it up and you don’t have to go over the steps,” Darlington explained. “It rides smoothly up the stairs so you hop on your bike and away you go. It may be challenging for electric, but they might be able to give a little throttle bump as well.”

There’s a road through the park the leads to Seclusion Bay Road on the Peachland side. It will still be a challenge to get down into Peachland but the Trails of the Okanagans Society is working with Peachland on a potential switchback trail on Drought Hill beside Highway 97.

Read full article here: https://infotel.ca/newsitem/major-connection-along-trail-of-the-okanagans-to-open-this-summer/it89238?fbclid=IwAR3L9QoPYc9vC5AgJTujZtNYz7HjRGo2F-ey4beN_TaRw3M1TGtCaZICABI

Vaseux Lake group opposed to west side bike trail

Lyonel Doherty Times Colonist News November 17, 2021

File photo

A proposed hiking and biking trail on the east side of Vaseux Lake is prompting environmental concerns by the Vaseux Lake Stewardship Association.

Chair Norm Gaumont noted the trail in question on the old KVR rail bed poses a significant risk to endangered birds and wildlife. He also said it flies in the face of a previous government report that recommends an alternate route on the east side of the lake. Gaumont pointed to a 2018 environmental feasibility study prepared for the B.C. government outlining the impacts that such a trail would have on endangered species and sensitive habitats.

He noted the study consulted with biologists and other key stakeholders before recommending a bike route along Highway 97 on the east side of the lake, away from sensitive areas such as nesting sites. But Gaumont said the regional district is putting forward a proposal to establish the path on the west side. He stated this new proposal failed to consult with key stakeholders even though a “decision was made to move the bike path through a sensitive bird and wildlife refuge.” Gaumont said the trail will attract a large number of people, especially during spring and summer months when stress on wildlife increases. “While the proposal says hikers and cyclists must remain on the railway bed and not venture into federally protected areas adjacent to the bike trails, it will be impossible to totally stop people from going off trails.” Regional director Ron Obirek (Electoral Area D) said there is a long history behind this massive trail system. He noted that 25 years ago the province re-acquired the right to the trail on the west side of the lake for the benefit of hikers and cyclists. Obirek said the long-term visionary goal is to get all of these trails connected for the benefit of everyone, including tourism. But the director did acknowledge the environmental uniqueness of Vaseux Lake, pointing out issues such as siltation, milfoil and water quality.

He also noted the sensitive bird sanctuary and the challenge to get man and nature to co-exist in this area. Obirek suggested building an elevated trail structure to minimize the impact on the surrounding environment. Signage is another idea he suggested. The fact is most people don’t come here with the intent of harming the environment, he said. When asked about putting the trail on the east side of the lake, Obirek didn’t jump on that bandwagon.

“The idea of going on the east side is problematic, it’s a narrow road and dangerous . . . adding bikes and pedestrian traffic is not a good option.”

Area C director Rick Knodel said he favours the alternate route on the east side along some of the vineyards. He noted the potential conflict on the west side with the Thomas ranch land. The other concern is the disruption of snake habitat, he pointed out. East or west, both regional directors don’t see the trail being established anytime soon. Obirek said he supports the process of gathering the necessary input from the public and area stakeholders.

Janice Liebe, president of the trail advocacy group called Trail of the Okanagans, said biologists who have studied the area in question found that it is entirely possible for trails to co-mingle with wildlife habitat through proper design. “We agree that a careful design approach is required and we would expect that this would be vetted by many prior to actual approval of the trail to advance. We care about the habitat, too,” Liebe said. She noted that a study found the railbed to be in excellent condition with exposed gravels, and that the habitat is functioning with the trail there. Liebe said what is often left out of the conversation is that there is no room for a safe, fully-protected from traffic trail on the east side. “What would the environmental impact be of building into Vaseux Lake for a trail or carving out the cliffs?”

From Peachland to Goat’s Peak: Trails Society is getting closer to making that pathway happen

Peachland Phoenix

Written by Kristen Friesen October 26, 2021

It’s going to be tricky – a trestle may even be part of the planned construction. But by spring, the Trail of the Okanagans Society hopes to make a huge step forward in creating a bike / hike-friendly trail from Peachland all the way to Goat’s Peak Regional Park, up by Seclusion Bay.

President Janice Liebe says the group hired a geotechnical engineer so they’d be in a better position to get the project approved by the Ministry of Transportation (as much of the planned pathway is within the Hwy 97 / Drought Hill easement).

“We want to be in that position so we can be looking at what we can fundraise to make this connection work,” she says, explaining that so far, the response from MOTI on the engineering details has been positive.

“We’re going to complete those engineering details and if we have final approval from MOTI when that’s done, we should have a shovel-ready project ready to start fundraising and find grant funding for in the spring, which is very exciting.”

There’s more than 100 different sections of trail between Bennet Bridge and the Canada / US border – the vision of the Trail society is to create a single, 370-km long hiking / cycling trail that extends from Sicamous all the way to Brewster, Washington. The route roughly makes its way along a large section of Okanagan Lake, and Liebe says one of the Peachland sections, from Buchanan Rd to Seclusion Bay Rd, is among the most challenging.

“Essentially it stays entirely within the Ministry of Transportation easement, so below the highway,” she says.

The plan is for a short, protected section of pathway to be on the highway, just off the Buchanan intersection. Then, where that first pullout is located before you go up Drought, the pathway will go down onto the original part of Drought Rd, which is currently blocked off. Further up the hill, closer to Seclusion Bay and the entrance to Goat’s Peak park, is where some serious engineering will take place:

“There’s a significant piece of (construction) we have to do there, with retaining walls and a trestle to get us over to Seclusion Bay,” she says, adding thankfully, there’s also a flat piece of land the pathway can easily traverse across.

“And this is why we’ve hired a geotechnical engineer who will do the design work that needs to be approved by the Ministry of Transportation to their standards,” says Liebe.

“This is not a matter of plowing the land and putting some gravel down.”

Engineering fees for this leg of the project is $14,000. The Trail of the Okanagans Society managed to raise $10,000 through a grant and private donations. On tonight’s council agenda, there’s a request from the Peachland Tourism and Economic Development Committee. A total of $4,500 was already earmarked for them in the municipal budget, and the request is to use $4,000 towards the engineering costs. (Update – that was approved unanimously during Tuesday night’s meeting.)

“We did a presentation to the Tourism and Economic Development Committee earlier this year to talk about the benefits to tourism in Peachland by connecting the trail, particularly the section between Peachland and West Kelowna,” says Liebe.

“Because as soon as that all opens up, in theory, you would be able to ride your bike from Peachland over to Kelowna and when the Okanagan Rail Trail is complete, with that section in Lake Country, you’d be able to get all the way to Coldstream. So essentially, this connects into the Okanagan Rail Trail.”

Today, the Trail of the Okanagans Society is meeting with District representatives and a consultant, to walk another section of trail that will go through Peachland. That’s thanks to another grant the society received – $10,000 to study how the Trail will go through town, between Hardy Falls (right at the beginning of the Fur Brigade Trail), and Buchanan Rd.

“Right now it’s not design work, it’s planning work,” Liebe says.

As the entire project sits now, about 70% of the entire trail is cycle-able. There’s some big sections that still need to be brought into the network, notably in the south Okanagan.

“Those are big sections of trail that require a lot of work and there are issues of access, the environment, so it’s complicated. But we’re working, frankly, everywhere we can.”

That includes liaising with local cities, towns, regional districts and First Nations leaders. The Trail of the Okanagans Society recently received a $15,000 grant to start some consultations – a listening exercise, Liebe says.

“We want to deliver the trail in partnership with Westbank First Nations, Penticton Indian Band and the Osoyoos Indian Band. We’re just starting that work now – what they would like to see, how they would like to participate, what’s important to them. So really, it’s a listening exercise for us to go through that.”

In all, she sees the Trail of the Okanagans Society as the glue that’s allowing these sections to be built.

“We don’t physically build the trails, but we’re working to create the vision of connecting all of these various areas and we do write grants to assist municipalities to help fund the work that needs to be done. For example, we found the funding for the engineering between Buchanan and Seclusion Bay. That’s not going to be a cheap piece of trail, so there will be a fundraising piece that comes out of that. But we see ourselves as the glue, bringing these various partners together to talk about this and to see what can be done. And we’re gaining momentum.”

Want to learn more about the Trail of the Okanagans Society? Here’s their website and their Facebook.

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