Penticton is being asked to join with other local governments to develop a master plan for a Summerland to Penticton multi-use trail, but city council wants more information before they make a decision.
In 2015 the Province of B.C. designed and constructed a 1.3-km Multi Use Trail along Okanagan Lake from Lower Summerland to Trout Creek. The cost to construct the Multi Use Trail was $860,000, not including engineering and environmental work.
Director of operations Mitch Moroziuk said the province sees future development of the trail as a four-way partnership between the province, Regional District Okanagan Similkameen, Penticton and Summerland. The cost of developing a master plan is estimated at $110,000, of which Penticton would contribute $38,500.
Moroziuk estimates future costs to build the portion of the trail from Trout Creek to Penticton could be in the range of $7.8 million. Mayor Andrew Jakubeit suggested there might be more options than just supporting or not supporting the master plan, like working with user groups to develop another concept. The discussion is expected to be resumed at council’s Feb. 1 regular meeting.