FILE PHOTO – A line of buyers can be seen at Costco in Kelowna. The relocation of the Costco business to Kelowna will come with some significant road improvements on the property, largely paid for by Costco.
(ROB MUNRO / iNFOnews.ca)
April 20, 2021 – 4:00 p.m.
The relocation of the Costco business to Kelowna will come with some significant road improvements on the property, largely paid for by Costco.
When Kelowna City Council agreed to reorganize the land for the new location on the corner of Springfield Road and Leckie Road, it was unclear when the junction of Leckie Road and Highway 97 would be upgraded to a double left turn from the freeway to accomplish.
At the time, it was suggested that the work could be done after the store opened when traffic studies showed the upgrade was needed.
That changed this week.
“The Leckie Road and Highway 97 junction was a volume issue before the Costco and Costco proposals only exacerbated it,” Ryan Smith, the city’s community planning manager, told the city council yesterday, April 19.
“It would be a shame on opening day if this intersection didn’t work so well.”
The council agreed to postpone the project’s timetable so that the work could be carried out this year.
The $ 1.14 million upgrade cost will be split in three ways, depending on which unit is responsible for traffic through the intersection.
Costco will pay the largest portion at $ 473,300 while the province will bring in $ 200,000. The city council agreed to pay $ 466,000 from reserve funds to make it happen this year.
The city plans to reclaim its contribution over the next five years from developers building in a designated area that includes hundreds of lots flanking Highway 97 between Spall and McCurdy Roads.
The blue dotted line shows the properties that must contribute to the cost if the Highway 97-Leckie Road intersection develops over the next five years.
Image Credit: Submitted / City of Kelowna
In addition to its share of the freeway cost, Costco will also pay for things like the four lane Leckie Road between the freeway and Springfield Road, put a traffic signal on Leckie Road and Parkview Crescent, and build a double left turn lane on Springfield Road and turn on down Leckie Road.
At the January public hearing on the site’s repurposing, Costco said it plans to open the new store in the fall.
READ MORE: Costco plans to open its new Kelowna store this fall
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