Richter St - Crosswalk Improvements

The Richter St crosswalk improvement project is tentatively scheduled through the annual Crosswalk Program for 2025. This initiative is part of the City's ongoing investments to achieve goals outlined in the Transportation Master Plan (TMP), Official Community Plan (OCP), Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan (PBMP), and other guiding plans. Enhancing pedestrian safety and comfort aligns with the City’s long-term environmental protection goals, inclusive transportation, and improved community health.

The Hospital Area Plan recommends a crosswalk at the intersection of Royal Ave & Richter St. This crosswalk will connect pedestrians to the Royal Ave walkway and the traffic signal at Royal Ave & Pandosy St, providing safe access to Kelowna General Hospital (KGH) to the west. However, there is a gap in the sidewalk network on the east side of Richter St leading to this future crosswalk. This sidewalk section will only be developed once the public right-of-way width and cross section design are determined, with the timeline currently unknown. 

As an interim measure, a temporary crosswalk is proposed at the Glenwood Ave & Richter St intersection as part of the Glenwood Ave Urbanization (sidewalk) project in 2025. This location is not recommended as a long-term solution due to its proximity to the Cadder Ave traffic signal, which may lead to issues as traffic volumes grow. Therefore, the crosswalk is expected to eventually be relocated south to Royal Ave, as recommended in the Hospital Area Plan, once a sidewalk is implemented on the east side of Richter St.

Additional pedestrian and bike improvements are planned nearby with an Active Transportation Corridor (ATC) on Guisachan Rd / Rose Ave, south of Glenwood Ave. This future ATC will connect to the Ethel St ATC and KGH. However, the project's timeline is unconfirmed, and interim infrastructure is not possible due to public right-of-way constraints.