Residents and transit riders in Kelowna and the Central Okanagan are invited to get involved in a Kelowna transit exchange study.

Public feedback will inform the design process so that the project team understands what transit exchange features are most important and what could be improved.

Purpose of the study

The City of Kelowna, in partnership with BC Transit, has begun a transit exchange study to identify potential improvements to four transit facilities in Kelowna, including the Midtown / Orchard Park Exchange, Mission Recreation Exchange, Rutland Exchange, and Kelowna Airport Transit Station. Through public and stakeholder engagement and technical studies, potential improvements to enhance the facilities at each of these locations will be identified.

Potential improvements will meet several common goals, including the following.

• Support future transit service expansion to align with increased ridership
• Support improved transit access through diverse transportation options such as park and rides and mobility hubs
• Improve interactions between transit buses, vehicles, pedestrian and bicyclists
• Enhance customer and bus operator convenience, comfort and safety

Project considerations

As part of the study, each transit exchange will be individually evaluated so that design options for potential improvements meet several goals, outlined below.

Midtown / Orchard Park Exchange

• Support future transit service expansion
• Improve transit operational efficiency and reduce transit delay
• Integrate of all modes including transit on Cooper Road (Enterprise Way to Springfield Road)
• Provide operational/routing flexibility for transit on Cooper Road
• Minimize bus conflict with motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists
• Enhance customer and operator convenience, comfort and safety
• Preserve or enhance connectivity to the Harvey Avenue/Cooper Road Rapid Bus stations
• Support formalizing occupancy rights for the exchange and enhance the integration of transit with the surrounding land uses

Mission Recreation Exchange

• Improve transit operational efficiency and reduce operating costs associated with serving the facility
• Improve competitiveness of transit by reducing overall transit travel times for trips passing through the exchange
• Mitigate conflicts between transit vehicles and all other uses occurring on the broader site
• Support future transit expansion and provide operational/routing flexibility
• Enhance customer and operator convenience, comfort and safety
• Balance the needs of transit with those of the broader site considering safety, parking, pedestrian access to facilities, site servicing needs and other factors

Rutland Exchange

• Expand the reach of public transit through modal-integration such as park & ride, ride share, micro-mobility and active transportation
• Support efficient, effective system management and enhance bus operator working conditions
• Extend streetscaping elements east between Asher Road and Roxby Road and explore expansion of exchange capacity to accommodate future service growth

Kelowna Airport Transit Station

• Support the vision for future enhanced transit services to the airport
• Improve transit operational efficiency and routing flexibility
• Improve the competitiveness of transit by reducing overall transit travel times for trips passing through or ending at the airport
• Enhance customer access, comfort and safety, as well as multi-modal integration
• Mitigate conflicts between transit vehicles and all other modes operating within the broader site

Transit service in Kelowna

Transit exchange improvements are one of many steps being taken to improve service and connections throughout the region. The Okanagan Gateway Study, for example, coordinated alongside the draft Regional Transportation Plan, identifies future projects, programs and policies that will improve connections to Kelowna International Airport and UBC Okanagan.

The Kelowna Regional Transit System is the third largest system in the province, behind TransLink and the Victoria system. An essential service in our community, transit represents a key component of Kelowna’s transportation and growth strategy to support future population growth, which is expected to increase by 50,000 people over the next 20 years.