Is there Anything Happening in Lake Country? Part 2

This week's contributor is Reyna Seabrook, the District's Executive Assistant and Communication Officer. There are also two pictures of the proposed design for Lodge Road. If you click on the picture you will be able to enlarge it to see some of the details.

 
"A few weeks ago Alberto gave an update on what's happening in Lake Country. He spoke about economic development, branding, Town Centre development and other achievements that are not only putting Lake Country on the map, but creating a strong, sustainable and vibrant community.

 
So what else has been going on in Lake Country? I thought about listing all of our capital projects, but by the time I got to page 4, I started to think about how much room I actually have in this article. Needless to say, there are many (all listed in the 2011 budget) and we are working on all of them.

 
One big change the District made this year, which is turning out to be a huge success, was the decision to bring some of our roads contracts in-house. You may have seen Gary and Al around the community doing all sorts of jobs from painting to picking up garbage, talking to people in the community, responding to calls for drainage issues and animal pick-up. The switch to in-house has allowed us to be more proactive with our maintenance programs resulting in less weather related problems and has also improved service call response time exponentially. Gary and Al are both long-time residents of Lake Country and like many residents they are proud to live here and want to see this community look its best.

 
Have you ever heard someone say "Lake Country is a great place to live – but not always the easiest place to get around?" I can see you nodding your head, and we are nodding along with you. One of our top capital priorities is the Integrated Transportation Framework; a project that looks at all modes of transportation in Lake Country, not just vehicle traffic. It promotes liveability and health, connects neighbourhoods to schools and parks, includes multi-modal transportation options for transit and accessibly and makes transportation convenient, easy to use and barrier free.

 
So how are we going to do this? Let's go back to our Capital projects list and talk about a couple of more projects that fit into the Integrated Transportation Framework. First up, Lodge Road: We all know how many people use Lodge Road, especially the kids walking to GESS, and we all know that something needs to be done to improve this area. The Lodge Road Transportation Corridor design is well underway with pre-design and preliminary cost estimates already completed. The Lodge Road Project will be going out to tender in early 2012 and construction is planned to begin in the summer of 2012. Some of the highlights of the project include:

• a round-about at Lodge and Bottom Wood Lake Road intersection
• 3.5 metre travel lanes and a 1.5 metre bike lanes
• 2 metre sidewalk – separated from the roadway with a bio-swale* to control and treat Stormwater drainage prior to entering Vernon Creek (ps if you are thinking "what the heck is a bio-swale?" don't worry, I asked the same question. Basically it's a section of gently sloped land with native plants and vegetation separating the road from the pathway to control runoff water.)
• Pedestrian Bridge at Vernon Creek
• LED Street Lighting & landscape trees

The Davidson Road Project was another capital project identified as an area that needed improvements to both infrastructure and safety. The approximately 450 metre asphalt curb and pathway was done in a completely cost-effective manner with all the engineering standards being met or exceeded. The pathway was also completed in time for the students returning to school.
We definitely have to acknowledge one of our biggest partners in helping us work towards achieving our goal of integrated transportation in Lake Country. The Walk Around Lake Country, or WALC as they are known, volunteers are un-ending in their devotion to this community. They are helping the District identify the top pedestrian active transportation linkages and working with us to integrate them into the Integrated Transportation Framework plan.

 
Other projects that you may have noticed around the community:

• In response to meeting and working with the group GESS Student group, Teens 4 Change, a 30 km/hr school zone was put in in front of the school along with an additional crosswalk to increase student safety.
• In response to a petition received from residents in the Lakes subdivision about the speed of traffic on Lake Hill Drive, traffic calming devices were installed at the Shoreline intersection and rumble strips were placed at the Oceola intersection. Next year we will also be putting in a crosswalk at Oceola and Lake Hill Drive.
• Middle Bench Road was renewed and the drainage was improved.
• We received a beautification grant from BC Hydro to remove the power poles along Main Street and Bottom Wood Lake Road which also helps improve site line visibility in the school zone.
• To help improve transit we installed 7 brand new bus shelters complete with solar lighting.

 
These projects are just the starting points to an idea of creating a living community with vibrant and environmentally friendly networks…and just think how sweet it will be to hear …. "Lake Country is so easy and enjoyable to get around while being safe at the same time!"

 
Reyna Seabrook"