Abstract Manager

As cities across Canada grapple with housing affordability, Kelowna is taking a bold step forward. The Richter Corridor Study, led by the City of Kelowna and supported by HDR, reimagines one of the city’s key north–south corridors as a flexible, transit-supportive spine that can evolve alongside land use and development. With 45,000 new housing units anticipated by 2041, the study focuses on proactively protecting space for future rapid transit while enabling near-term improvements that support sustainable transportation.

Central to the study is a phased corridor protection strategy that allows the City to incrementally implement transit infrastructure in alignment with redevelopment and ridership growth. Rather than committing to a single transit solution, the study outlines a phased corridor protection strategy that accommodates a range of configurations from shared curbside transit lanes to dedicated median-running BRT and potential LRT in the long term, as demand increases. This flexible framework ensures that infrastructure investments can be scaled over time, aligning with redevelopment, ridership growth, and funding availability.

The study also tackles unique design challenges, including constrained rights-of-way and the need to accommodate both bus and rail technologies in the corridor protection strategy. Through technical analysis and coordination across City departments, the preferred alignment was optimized to minimize property impacts while preserving long-term transit functionality.

Collaboration was central to the study’s success. The project involved coordination between planners, engineers, and key partners across multiple City departments, as well as engagement with the public, and development community. Over 700 contributors participated in the public engagement process, helping to shape priorities around the future of the corridor.

This case study offers lessons from practice in corridor protection and multimodal planning. It demonstrates how cities can proactively safeguard space for future transit infrastructure while delivering near-term improvements that support sustainable multi-modal transportation. The approach balances flexibility with long-term vision, ensuring Kelowna’s transportation network remains inclusive, resilient, and well-connected as the city grows.