By Daily Courier Staff Monday, September 10, 2007 Kelowna Courier
The first phase of a new bikeway that will eventually stretch from downtown to the UBC Okanagan campus will cost $3.6 million, city council will hear today. City staff recommend the contract for developing a 1.8-kilometre stretch of the so-called Rails with Trails project be awarded to Peters Bros. Construction Ltd. The bike and pedestrian pathway will be developed on the south side of the railway tracks and parallel to the newly opened stretch of Clement Avenue, between Gordon Drive and Spall Road. The contract also includes landscaping along Clement Avenue. “The intended use of the trail is consistent with the city‘s goals of providing alternate modes of transportation, promoting active living and reducing harmful emissions,” transportation manager Ron Westlake writes in a report to council. “The Rails with Trails corridor will provide a safe and scenic pathway for walking, inline skating, commuter and recreational cycling, wheelchairs, scooters and baby strollers,” he said.
A $1-million grant from the provincial government, through its LocalMotion program, will cover some of the project‘s cost. Though it was the lowest of the bids received for the job, Peters Bros. tender was still about 15 per cent higher than the city‘s estimates for the project. “This is typical of what can be expected, based on the time of year when the tender was let, and a continuing reminder of the current economy,” Westlake said. To make up the shortfall, the upgrading of a section of High Road between Clement and Lambert will be delayed until 2009, with money that was to have been spent on that project moved over to the Rails with Trails account
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