City of Kamloops to apply for active transportation grant to fund Westsyde multi-use path

Photo: City of Kamloops

The location of the Westsyde multi-use path. The City of Kamloops will be applying for government funding to help pay for the project after council approved the recommendation Tuesday.

The City of Kamloops will be applying for provincial government grant funding to put towards a new multi-use pathway in Westsyde.

Council voted unanimously in favour of submitting the grant application at their meeting on Tuesday.

Purvez Irani, the city’s transportation manager, said staff intend to submit the Westsyde Road Multi-Use Path Project as part of their application.

Irani said the project would see a 430 metre long, 3.6 metre wide pathway constructed along a portion of Westsyde Road.

“With active transportation we look at connecting facilities. The more connections we have, the more chances people are going to use that facility,” Irani said.

"This project would be classified as a triple A facility — all ages and abilities — and would connect the Westmount multi-use pathway, which leads up to the Westmount Elementary School, to Bachelor Hills Drive.”

Irani said upgrades to the area will include intersection pavement markings and tactile surfaces for pedestrians, pathway lighting and widened bus stop areas.

Irani said the project is estimated to cost $1 million, and if the grant application is successful, they will receive funding for half of that amount.

Coun. Denis Walsh said he was concerned that connectivity to Thompson Rivers University was not prioritized, being a major city hub.

“To me, the real void in our city plan, our bike plan, is there’s no access to TRU, and that’s probably the highest potential use of biking. So I just worry we’re taking money that could be used to build a section of that,” Walsh said.

Irani said the idea is to have a north-south corridor for active transportation completed first, then an east-west corridor will follow.

Coun. Kathy Sinclair asked Irani if staff will be prioritizing the TRU area when submitting the next grant application.

Irani said there is a neighbourhood plan being completed for the TRU area, which they would like to see completed first.

“The goal is to have that neighbourhood engagement for that area, the TRU area, and then have a design completed and yes, reapply for future grants,” Irani said.

The City of Kamloops recently announced they were the recipient of a $4 million grant that will pay for active transportation upgrades, namely the Summit-Downtown connection project.

According to the city, work on the project — which includes the construction of Kamloops’ first two-way, protected bike lane — will start later this year.

The pathway project will see sections of multi-use path built on Sixth Avenue and along Summit Drive, from Notre Dame Drive to Whiteshield Crescent South.