Looks good.
They'll need to have that area full serviced in order for it to work. I can't see people wanting to live by the on ramp to the busiest bridge between Vancouver and Calgary, and everyday having to leave to get basics like groceries etc.

Yeah no kidding. The closest places for groceries would be either Lakeview market, or Safeway downtown.

Nice to see some bigger scale projects going into Kelowna.

The bridge span is about 200ft away from being complete. I'm going to see if I can be the first to cross it. Legally or illegally.

^ How about some photo's in and about Kelowna?

hah, like that'll ever happen.

But, they are getting the pre-load off the Madison. Hopefully it goes up quickly. And Invue is going up pretty fast itself.

From Castanet.net

It's pretty exciting to see that there were more multi-family units approved than single family homes. This being the sprawl capital outside GVRD.

How do all the young professionals survive? Or do they leave?

The home prices are abs. crazy?

I bought a new place in a multi-family complex and I rent to a mother and her son. It's two bedrooms, 1200sqft and $1100 a month. Not cheap, but not exactly expensive either. It's brand new and in a good location, so I think the rental price is fair.

Many leave, then some come back when they have enough to afford it. Or, they buy a second home here.

Madison is under construction now. The land looks really weird without all that preload.
Also, expect a photo thread sometime in early spring.

http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/WilliamRBenn.../080215_07.jpg

The new 5-lane W.R. Bennett floating bridge (as well as the Campbell Road interchange on the westside) are sure coming along nicely! Another five months or so until its anticipated July opening date.

Looks good, can't wait to cross that baby this summer. Are there any plans for a second crossing? it would be wise, Harvey can't handle much more traffic.

OMG! Bye the way what ever happened to your buddy mackeast?

LOL
Um, not sure. I said I hadn't talked to him in over a year now.

I'd expect a bypass route along the westside before a second crossing

As someone who's spent hours in lineups trying to cross that old bridge I'd say this new bridge can't have come online soon enough!

I honestly think I've wasted at least a few days of my life stuck in traffic for the bridge.

^ I'll bet. It was bad in '93-95 when I lived there, and I can only imagine it's gotten much worse since then.

On perhaps a related matter, a friend of mine lives in Okanagan Landing in Vernon, on Okanagan ave, and her property backs onto the commonage & she's received word that a major thoroughfare is in some initial planning phase that will run a bypass basically right behind her house. Could that be part of the Kelowna bypass that I've heard about ? Vernon needs a bypass too.... hwy 97 through town has gotten ridiculous all year round & hospital hill is a major accident just waiting to happen

Here's the ultimate freeway alignment for the Central Okanagan Bypass in Kelowna, north of Harvey Ave. Speed limit will be 100 km/hr for the eastern sections.

It's being built in stages and the western end will ultimately hook up with a new second crossing at the base of Knox Mountain near the sawmill and the old ferry landing on the westside. But that's at least 30 years out, I would think.


http://www.kelowna.ca/CityPage/Docs/...20displays.pdf

Then you have the longer-term Vernon West Bypass, Westbank Bypass, and other highway projects in this report.

http://www.nord.ca/publications/pdf/ovtc_report.pdf

^ Yes, the NORD PDF shows the bypass running out through the commonage & over to Bella Vista. I guess my friend was right... sounds like that bypass is a long ways out though. She'll be happy about that.

That urban freeway looks like a huge undertaking, considering it runs though lots of developed area.... I assume the city is already getting ROW's in place.

Whatever happened to that highway that was supposed to run down the westside to right around O'Keefe ranch, then tee up with Hwy 97 south of Armstrong ?