Construction is about to begin on the first phase of Okanagan rail trail between Vernon and Lake Country.
Crews will start work on 5.6km of trail in Lake Country and another 12km stretch in the Regional District of the North Okanagan heading into Vernon.
Officials held an open house in Lake Country Wednesday night to continue gathering feedback from local residents.
“It’s phenomenal! Absolutely phenomenal,” Lake Country resident Judy Buddle said of the project.
“I think it’s going to be wonderful for exercise and it’s just going to be great for the whole family,” Lake Country resident Sherri Stone said.
Other area residents like John Gynra have concerns ahead of construction, including on how wide the trail will be to accommodate all users.
“A lot of people think this is great. They want to see the trail used as it’s been promised from the purchase,” Matt Vader, manager of strategic and support services in Lake Country said. “This is a large, multi-jurisdictional endeavour of 50 kilometres working with multiple levels of government making sure this is a success going forward for the long term.”
So far, half of the $7.86 million needed to build the trail has been raised.
If fundraising stays on track, Vader believes the trail will be complete by the end of 2018.
The last open house to view plans for the rail trail is Thursday at Kelowna’s Parkinson Rec Centre from 4-6:30 p.m.