Kelowna makes a push outdoors

KELOWNA – Even locals don’t know all the best places to hike, swim and bike — that’s the premise behind the Active By Nature campaign, which will use advanced route signage, a video and an interactive website to promote Kelowna’s outdoor infrastructure.

“A proven and effective way to inform residents about our network and to further encourage its use is through the implementation of a wayfinding signage program,” event development supervisor Mariko Siggers says in a report to council. “The wayfinding strategy is designed around the needs of end-users — residents, tourists and others who visit Kelowna.”

Coupled with that is an interactive webpage that allows users to specify an activity, choose the distance they are willing to travel and search the city for the best possible choice.

According to Siggers, the program began in 2014 with a $100,000 Bike B.C. grant, which the city used to begin developing a wayfinding signage program with consultant Applied Wayfinding and Alta Planning and Design. This year the city has added $20,000 annual funding to the budget for the program.

They decided on three types of sign structures for Kelowna’s multi-use pathways — pathway and route markers, directional signage at key intersections and map kiosks that display full-scale city maps.

Promotion of the program will be ongoing but includes a video shot in Kelowna highlighting some of the infrastructure and promoting an active lifestyle.

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