Lyonel Doherty, Times-Chronicle 

Beautification and wayfinding make up the focus of a consultant’s report to turn the Town of Oliver into a more vibrant community.

The Active Transportation Downtown Beautification & Wayfinding report by EcoPlan will guide Oliver to achieving this goal.

The report encourages wayfinding kiosks and directional signage for downtown visitors, an idea marked as a priority for more than 60 per cent of respondents in a November 2021 survey.

A wayfinding kiosk is estimated to cost between $63,868 and $134,680, while signage is estimated to cost between $114,344 and $160,082.

The consultant says that unlike other smaller towns in B.C., Oliver “maintains an active downtown area with a number of good assets to build on.”

The report states that recent developments on Station Street are the realization of many years of dreaming and planning.

“Main Street, meanwhile, presents a mixed story of well-loved new and old buildings, do-it-yourself appeal and a little bit of neglect.”

The EcoPlan report draws on many recent efforts including the Grow Oliver strategy that promotes downtown beautification and wayfinding. The strategy calls for more attractive building facades (painting of storefronts), addressing vacant lots, enhancing walkability, allowing more cafes and patios, running a pilot program for food trucks, supporting murals and developing wine-themed sidewalk crossings.

The consultant’s report outlines a number of proposed projects and improvements for Oliver.

These include: 

More lighting for Community Park, Lion’s Park and walking trails

Pedestrian crossing signals at key intersections

Shelters and benches at bus stops

Year-round public washrooms

Bike locking areas and charging stations for E-bikes

Planned sidewalks for Station Street, Kootenay Street, School Avenue, Fairview Road, Tulameen Street, Co-op Avenue and Sawmill Road.

Adding a centre strip to aid people safely passing each other on the international hike and bike trail

The report includes some community comments about the trail. These include snow clearing, adding lights and general maintenance.

Smaller projects identified in the report include:

Sidewalk cleanups

Temporary chalk drawings

Garden beds

The report identifies the “ditch” trail (canal) from Similkameen to Road 2 as a recreational trail network, converting the existing access road to a multi-use path. More than 40 per cent of survey respondents indicated that this should be a priority project.

The estimated cost of construction (for 1,100 metres of trail) is $360,000.

The cost of international hike and bike trail maintenance and upgrades is between $523,000 and $606,000.

It is noted that funding opportunities may be available for these projects.

EcoPlan presented the report to Oliver town council on Feb. 14 for review.