Image: Trevor Nichols
Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran says it’s time to consider light rail service along the Okanagan Rail Trail.
At his annual state of the city address today, Basran said a light rail service along the rail corridor would be an “efficient way to move a lot of people affordably” across the region.
Several districts in the Okanagan recently purchased a collective 48.5 kilometres of old CN rail corridor, which in the immediate future will be used as an active transportation corridor.
Basran said that, as the population in the region grows, it makes sense to consider alternative transportation option like rapid buses, autonomous cars, or even light rail on that corridor.
Basran said eventually installing light rail along the corridor would make getting through the valley both more efficient, and less expensive.
“It’s an efficient way to move a lot of people affordably, and it will take some investigation as our population grows,” he said.
Basran added that, while any talk of a light rail is for the moment “high level” and without timelines, conversations between regional partners about it have already happened.
The mayor’s push to investigate light rail along the corridor was one part of a larger vision he laid out of what transportation in Kelowna might look like in the future.
He pointed out that the city could grow by as many as 40,000 people over the next two decades, and that “something has to change” if all those people hope to get around the city effectively.
Kelowna already struggles with traffic congestion, but Basran said simply widening roads won’t be enough to accommodate the expected population growth.
Widening roads like Glenmore, Gordon, or Springfield would provide “temporary relief,” but would require the city to pay twice as much for roads each year
“Building roads is not a long-term solution for traffic congestion… it is a costly, temporary fix (because) traffic only increases to match supply,” he said.
Instead, Basran said the city hopes to take more cars off the road, by encouraging people to live in urban centres, “in smaller spaces, closer to where they work.”
He also said the city and province need to do more to make alternative transportation options convenient and affordable.
He pointed to the fact that fewer people in the city are now driving to work, despite significant population growth here. He said Kelowna has some of the most per capita bike trails in Canada, and said the city will continue to encourage alternative transportation options wherever it can.
“I’m not saying people should stop driving their cars, or that I’m an automobile. All I’m simply trying to say is we would like to see people, if possible, use alternative modes to get around, wherever they can,” he said. “If we continue to build more options for people to walk or bike to work, people will use them”
However, Basran did say there are some “key road connections” the city still wants to see finished. Those include a planned extension of Highway 33, improvements to John Hindle Drive, and the South Perimeter Road.
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