Year-round and expanded access may be coming to several regional parks in the Central Okanagan.

The parks include Black Mountain sntsk鈥檌l鈥檔t蓹n Regional, Mission Creek Greenway, Scenic Canyon Regional, Rose Valley Regional, Glen Canyon Regional, Bertram Creek Regional, Kopje Regional and Goats Peak Provincial.

Park Services acting director Wayne Darlington told a Regional District Central Okanagan (RDCO) committee of the whole meeting, that regular winter maintenance at the parks would increase outdoor opportunities for residents.

鈥淎n example would be the Mission Creek Greenway from Lakeshore Road to East 琉璃神社 Road,鈥� he said.

Darlington added it would also increase opportunities with the Community Initiative Society to help get those with mobility challenges into parks.

Director Patrick Van Minsel asked about potential budget increases if the plan were implemented.

Darlington noted there are no firm figures yet as planning is in the early stage, but added there would definitely be an increase.

Staff is currently reviewing required resources and will provide the RDCO board with exact figures during budget deliberation later this year.

The potential start for the program is 2024/25.

In 2022, approximately 1.5 million people visited regional parks in the Central Okanagan, with Mission Creek Green accounting for 20 per cent of those visits.

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