City of Powell River is looking to build a third phase of an active transportation corridor between Townsite and Westview.
At the February 20 city council meeting, director of planning services Jason Gow outlined plans for the Brooks Secondary School connector, which would link the Maple and Sycamore safe streets corridor and the mid-level connector multi-use pathway between Powell River Recreation Complex and Brooks.
According to a staff report, there was a recommendation for staff to apply for a federal active transportation grant to fund the construction of a $725,000 multi-use pathway through Brooks, with $290,000 coming from the community works fund and $435,000 from the federal program.
Gow said city staff continue to seek funding for implementation of key active transportation routes to align with the framework established in the city’s official community plan.
He said the Maple and Sycamore project was completed in 2024 and provides a safe active transportation link from the north end of Townsite to Brooks. The mid-level connector multi-use pathway will connect the recreation complex and Brooks with a safe, all-ages multi-use pathway, which is currently under construction, and is scheduled for completion in May of this year, according to Gow.
“The Brooks connection project will link these two active transportation facilities by the school property to create a continuous, safe, all-ages and abilities north-south route,” said Gow. “To date, the city has leveraged more than $1.4 million in provincial grants to support the implementation of this active transportation corridor. On December 12, the federal government announced a second intake of the active transportation fund program.
“The Brooks connection is an essential connection required to complete the link, and the federal announcement provides an opportunity to obtain substantial funding towards its development.”
Gow said February 26 is the application deadline for this intake of the federal funding program. He said city staff have been working collaboratively with qathet School District staff on developing a conceptual design and cost estimate for the project. The conceptual design has been presented to the school board, which has provided the city with a letter of support, he added.
Gow said there is a parking lot to the east of Brooks and what is being proposed is a three-metre-wide paved surface along that stretch of the parking area. He said there will be movement of the parking stalls and some realignment of some lighting.
“The goal is to improve accessibility through the site,” said Gow. “This will ensure there is a separation between vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians through the site.”
Gow said this is a three-phase project and the contract for the mid-level connector has been awarded and work has begun.
“This is for the third phase,” said Gow.
City councillor Cindy Elliott asked if the school district was in favour of the connection, or if they were worried about the increase of traffic.
“Have they brought up concerns about maybe stopping people from going through there if we don’t make improvements?” asked Elliott.
Gow said the school board supported this project many years ago. Due to the length of time it took to get the first two phases underway, the city needed to circle back and have conversations.
“Through that process we identified there was some concern about users on this particular stretch,” said Gow. “There wasn’t a conversation about stopping people from using this. This is two partners working together collaboratively to try to find a solution that works for those attending the school and residents of the community.”
Council voted unanimously to apply for the federal active transportation fund grant to fund the multi-use pathway through the Brooks property.
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