West Kelowna council was presented with an update on winter road maintenance in the district after the significant snow events experienced in early January.
Council gave kudos to staff and AEL, the district’s winter road maintenance contractor, for the great effort in dealing with an extraordinary amount of snow. Council was advised that roads maintenance staff are continually striving for improvements and each year are gaining more experience.
Regarding other issues addressed at the council meeting this week:
Boucherie Road Rezoning
Council gave first and second readings to a Zoning Amendment Bylaw for 3110 Boucherie Road from R1L Large Parcel Single Detached Residential to R1 Single Detached Residential to facilitate a future 14-lot subdivision on the 11,339 m2 lot. The application will be taken to a public hearing once a revised traffic impact assessment is submitted that takes into account turning sight distances.
King Road Rezoning
Council adopted a Zoning Amendment Bylaw for 3253 King Road to rezone the 8.6 hectare property from RU1 Country Residential to R1 Single Detached Residential to facilitate a future seven-lot subdivision.
Brown Road Rezoning
Council adopted a Zoning Amendment Bylaw for 3788-3790 and 3792 Brown Road to amend the zoning of the properties to Urban Centre Commercial Zone. The properties are located approximately 200 metres south of Dobbin Road and adjacent to a shopping centre. A pedestrian connection to the shopping centre has been secured as part of this application.
Spring Sweeping
Council awarded the 2015-2017 Spring Sweeping Services contract to Atlas Power Sweeping Ltd. for a three-year price of $368,445. This contract includes the optionally tendered street washing service. Four proposals were received with Atlas Power Sweeping Ltd. scoring the highest in the evaluation of the proposals. Services will be augmented by the District-owned street sweeper. Sweeping will be conducted beginning in March, weather-dependent, and is expected to take approximately 6 weeks. Street sweeping services in 2014 were discussed with staff advising that a large amount of sand was deposited on District streets during the winter season which complicated and extended the 2014 street sweeping program. It is not anticipated that this will be the case in 2015.
Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan
Council was provided a draft of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Infrastructure Implementation Plan which prioritizes projects to improve the District’s pedestrian and bicycle networks. The plan references existing plans including the Transportation Master Plan and the Recreation Trails Master Plan. Stakeholder meetings were held throughout 2014 with various groups including Kelowna Area Cycling Coalition, West Kelowna Special Needs Advisory Council, Gellatly Bay Trails and Parks Society, School District 23, Westbank First Nation and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. Through analysis of network gaps, a total of 97 segments or projects are required to complete the pedestrian and cycling networks. The large number of projects requires prioritization to maximize effectiveness and incorporate improvements with other capital plans or projects. Each segment was given a score based on the proximity to active transportation trip generators including transit, schools, community centers, neighborhood commercial and parks. A weighting system resulted in a ranked list of projects based on the demand for active transportation with a 20 year investment ranging from $3.5 million to $8 million. Staff will finalize the draft plan and bring it back to Council for adoption, with the recommendations of the report added to future budget deliberations.
