Bernard Avenue Revitalization
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It's happening. The opportunity to complete a long-awaited renovation of Kelowna's Main Street was approved by City Council.
The underground utilities along Bernard Avenue are nearing the end of their useful life and the road is in need of upgrading. As these upgrades need to be completed, it is timely to upgrade the aesthetics of Bernard Avenue. These aesthetic improvements include wider sidewalks, a coordinated complement of street furniture, as well as more trees and vegetation.
Next Steps
Property owners along Bernard Avenue have agreed to cost share 25 per cent of the beautification aspect of the revitalization and was unanimously approved by Council.
Construction schedule options
By next fall, construction will be underway to enhance Kelowna’s main street. City Council endorsed a staff recommendation to conduct the work during quiter months. Construction is expected to begin in September 2012, with winter work dependent on weather conditions. Work will stop during peak tourism season in the summer and then ramp up again in the fall. The majority of construction is anticipated to be completed in the fall of 2013, however, some work and final paving is likely to take place in the spring 2014.
Recent input by business owners during a breakfast session Sept. 20 were considered as construction timing options.
An information session on construction timeline options was held downtown Tuesday, October 11. More than 90 businesses and residents stopped by to learn more about the four scenarios and provided their comments.
See the display panels and FAQs below.
Communications Plan
The City, in partnership with the DKA is finalizing a Communications Plan for the construction phase of the project.
The Plan, through input from those affected, will identify potential issues during construction and develop a responsive approach to help with customer retention and minimize business disruption. It will also include an action plan to keep business owners up to date on construction activity to help them manage their businesses day-to-day activities. And it will develop a project “theme” to be implemented through advertising and promotional events and activities to draw local and out-of-town customers to downtown throughout the construction period.
Together with the DKA, the construction will be promoted as a positive step towards a rejuvenated ”Main Street” and a bright future for all of downtown. The completion of the Plan is expected this fall.
Background
Council endorsed moving forward with the preliminary design of the Bernard Avenue streetscape plan. 
The first session was held on January 18, 2010, with more than 80 business and property owners and representatives from the community at large.
The series of workshops were hosted by the City of Kelowna, the Downtown Kelowna Association
and facilitated by landscape architect consultant Space2Place. The public engagement process included four workshops, two open houses and a questionnaire
.
Missed the workshops or open houses?
See the Document Centre for all of the open houses, workshops and supporting plans.
Schedule
The preliminary design phase of the project is now complete and with detail design set to begin this fall. It is anticipated that construction can begin in September 2012 subject to Council approval.
Contact:
For more information on the project, email
bernardinfo@kelowna.ca
Downtown Kelowna Association
250 862-3515
info@downtownkelowna.com