While Canadian National has until early to mid 2017 to finish remedial work on the Okanagan corridor, local jurisdictions will soon get a look at preliminary plans for the rail trail.
Andrew Gibs, project manager at the City of Kelowna, says the inter-jurisdictional team is in the planning, design and costing phases of the corridor.
By April, it will be ready to present a trail development plan to officials with Kelowna, Lake Country, the Regional District of North Okanagan and the Okanagan Indian Band.
“Over the winter, we have been planning and consulting and designing and we want to have a trail development plan prepared with cost estimates so we can go to the councils involved and show them what it will take to get a basic gravel trail on the corridor,” said Gibs
“We have a partnership with Okanagan Rail Trail Initiative and once we have the development plan in front of councils, they will get the go ahead to start fundraising. The local governments have allocated funding (to buy the corridor) and the intention is to fund the development of the trail through fundraising.”