Pedestrian walkway nearing completion

PENTICTON – Kaleden’s first sidewalk is reshaping and urbanizing the community’s major road.

Regional District Okanagan Similkameen Community Services Manager Mark Woods says the Lakehill Road project is 'going very well' and expects the walkway to be completed sometime in May. He says construction fell a few weeks behind due to negotiations for further land acquisition near some tight corners along the path’s right of way, but the project is back on track now.

Woods says he’s heard a number of favourable comments concerning the construction and notes residents are already using completed sections of the walkway, which extends the full length of Lakehill Road for a distance of 1.9 kilometres.

“It’s certainly changing the landscape of Lakehill Road,” he says, noting the paved shoulder and curbing now in place.

Concerns about safety of pedestrian traffic on Lakehill Road prompted a community petition for the sidewalk three years ago.

“We’ve worked hard to notify residents of work in front of their property, and to resolve issues regarding landscaping changes,” Woods says.

Drainage issues were a predominant concern with engineers, who installed several catchment basins to ease runoff that would occur on the road once the walkway curb was in place. Woods says no unanticipated engineering problems have cropped up during the construction.

The $600,000 project is being funded through Area 'D Gas Tax grants in a partnership with the province. The project began in late February.

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