Cranbrook to Kimberley Rail to Trails

The Cranbrook Connections

by Al Skucas

(Trails BC)

Oct 2009

A Photo Study on Potential Options to Integrate the new Cranbrook to Kimberley Rails to Trails with Cranbrook’s existing trail infrastructure

Highlights the Need for a Community Connection Access Options Analyzing the option considerations

Need for a Cranbrook Community Connection

Cranbrook's most popular and accessible community trail, the Rotary Way needs to be integrated with the Cranbrook to Kimberley Rail Trail

Self propelled users to access the rail trail would have to utilize current roads and highways

Cranbrook families would have to drive and park to gain access to the rails to trails trailhead

Existing options are therefore not environmentally friendly, safe, and are not promoting principles of Active Transportation. Options would not be conducive to promoting a healthy and active lifestyle

The Access Options

Options are determined by the need to safely cross Highway 3 & 95 as well as CP’s Main Rail Line

Highway Crossings– Traffic Light at Hwy 3 & 22rd St North– Traffic Light at Hwy 3 & Willowbrook Drive– Traffic Light at Hwy 3 & Victoria Drive

Railway Crossings– Highway 95A Underpass– McPhee Road Rail Crossing

22rd ST. N traffic light

Willowbrook Drive traffic light

Victoria Ave Traffic Light

Potential Highway

Crossings

CP’s Main Line

CP’s HWY 95A

Overpass

McPhee Road Rail Crossing

CP’s Rail Crossings

CP’s Main Line Rail Crossing at McPhee Road

West

Rails to Trails Access Points

Colinson Road Trailhead Echo Field Road Crossing Terminus of Rails to Trails Pavement

Cranbrook to Kimberley Rails to Trails Access Points

Colinson Rd. Trailhead

Echo Field Road

Rails to Trails Terminus

Rotary Way Potential Access Points

29th Ave. N & 30th Ave. N. Willowbrook Drive & Kootenay St. Victoria Ave. & Kootenay St.

30th AVE N Access

Willowbrook Drive Access

Victoria and Kootenay Ave

Access

Rotary Way Access Points

Connection to Rotary Way at 29th and 30th Ave North

29th Ave N30th Ave. N To Downtown

Rotary Way

To Isadore Canyon Trail

Access to Rotary Way at Willowbrook & Kootenay St. N

Kootenay St. N

Willowbrook

Rotary Way

North

Access to Rotary Way at Victoria Ave & Kootenay St.

Victoria Rotary Way

North

The Access Options

In this report 6 trail options are identified that any one could be developed to connect the Cranbrook Kimberley Rail to Trails to Cranbrook’s Rotary Way

Four via Colinson Road Access

One via Echo Field Road

One via access through Wildstone’s property

Options via Colinson Trailhead

Five identified route options Four identified routes via Colinson and

Theater Road One route via Highway 95A All these route selection utilize Colinson

Road, Highway 95A until Theater Road for a distance for .5 Km

Colinson Trailhead Options Connecting to Rotary Way

1. To Theater Road, 22nd St. N 23rd St. N

2. To Theater Road, McPhee Road, Mall Parking lot, Ridgeview Drive, Willbrook Drive

3. To Theater Road, Victoria Ave

4. To Theater Road, To Highway 95A, Cranbrook St. frontage road, 23rd ST. N

Access Point- close to North End of Colinson Road

Rail Trailhead 30 meter behind bush at Colinson Road

Access to Rail Trail

Colinson Road has limited traffic, no surface trail development required

Looking North towards HWY 95A

Colinson road makes a hard turn left as it approaches 95A

With light traffic here, bike lane within the travelled surface would suffice

Highway 95 looking east under CP’s main line bridge

Room for pathway left of pillar

Looking west from Theatre towards rail bridge

Plenty of room within Hwy ROW for trail development

Crossing of Theater Road at Hwy 95A offers the safest crossing of this busy road

From Colinson Road

Theater Road OptionsTo HWY 95A

ROW option

Colinson Road/Theatre Road Options

3 identified Options All routes utilizes section along Theater

Road from Highway 95A to 22nd ST. North for a distance of 1.5 km

Theater Road is a heavily used artial road

Trail Development would require trail separation from the travelled portion

South

The Following 7 Slides Highlight Pathway Options on the East Side of Theater Road

The first 400 meters of Theater Road has lots of separation between the road

and the Mission Hills Golf Course

South

South

300 Meters South of Hwy 95A

As Theater Road passes Mission Hills Golf Course, ROW off road narrows

400 meter south of HWY 95A

South

South

600 meters south of Hwy 95A , less ROW to accommodate trail development

1 Km South of Hwy 95A

Southeast

North

1 km South Hwy 95A

Theater Rd Option#1Colinson Trailhead to 30th Ave. N

Highway 95A, Theater Road, 22nd ST. N. 23rd ST. N Rotary Way at 29th Ave. N. & 30th Ave. N. Colinson Rd, 3.05 km length, Rail Trails to Rotary Way

Colinson Trailhead to Rotary Way at 30th Ave. North

Theater Road & 22nd ST. N.

22nd St. N

North

22nd St. N & Theater Rd

Theater RD

East

22nd St. N.

West

Plenty of Room for Pathway here

22nd St North & McPhee

Road

McPhee Rd.

East

After Brush Clearing Room for Pathway

Chamber of Commerce Site good place to stop for out of town cyclists

Highway 3

Traffic Light at 22nd St. North

South

23rd St. N

23rd St. N

Room for sidewalk/bike lane combination

East

Rotary Way Access at 30th Ave

30th Ave

North

Theater Rd Option#2Colinson Trailhead to Willbrook/Kootenay

Colinson Rd, Highway 95A, Theater Road, McPhee Rd Wal-Mart Mall Parking Lot Ridgeview Drive Willbrook Drive Rotary Way at Willbrook and Kootenay St. N. 3.75 km length, Rail Trail to Rotary Way

Colinson Trailhead to Rotary Way at Willbrook Drive and Kootenay St.

McPhee Rd.& Theater Rd.

Theater Rd.

East

Theater Road & McPhee

Road

McPhee RoadNorth

McPhee Road

NorthTo Wal-Mart Parking Lot

Ridgeview Drive

Pathway Option ?

Willowbrook Drive

South

Willowbrook Drive

Ridgeview Drive

East

Theater Rd Option#3Colinson Trailhead to Victoria/Kootenay

Colinson Rd, Highway 95A, Theater Road, Victoria Ave. Rotary Way at Victoria Ave & Kootenay St. 3.85 km length, Rail Trail to Rotary Way

Colinson Road Trailhead to Rotary Way at

Kootenay St.

Theater Road 1.5 km South of Hwy 95A

South

McPhee Road

North

Theater Road

2.1 km south

Hwy 95A

Theater Road

2.8 Km south of Hwy 95A

North

Theatre Road

To Cranbrook ST. /Hwy 3

250 meters

North

Theater Road & Cranbrook St./Hwy 3

Hwy 3 Northeast

Highway 95A OptionColinson Trailhead to 30th Ave

Colinson Road Highway 95A Row Cranbrook ST/Hwy 3 frontage road 23rd St N. Rotary Way Access at 29th Ave. & 30th Ave. 3 km total length from Colinson Road

Trailhead to Rotary Way

Overpass over HWY 3 itself ruled out as an option as too much bridge upgrade required

Looking East on 95A from Junction with Theater Road

Plenty Room for Pathway In HWY ROW

400 meters East of Theatre Road

400 meters east of Theater Road looking west

West Side 95A Approaching Overpass Looking West

West of Overpass looking South, Sewage ponds to the right

Considerable land here for trail development

ROW east of Overpass

South

North of Strip, West of Over Pass

Access off Cranbrook ST, frontage road, North End of Strip before Overpass,

End of frontage road, West side Cranbrook ST. looking Southeast

Cranbrook St/Hwy 3 & 22nd ST. N Junction with Highway Crossing

22nd St. N

South

For Access from here to Rotary Way see Theater Road Option #1

Echo Field Road Option

Utilizing Echo Field Road, Industrial Road #2, Industrial Road G, McPhee Road, 22nd St. North 23rd St. North Rotary Way Access at 29th Ave N. & 30th Ave. 5.2 Km length Rail Trail to Rotary Way

Echo Field Road option

Echo Field Road at junction of Rail Trail, looking Southwest

Limited capacity to provide pathway outside of travelled portion

600 meters west of Hwy 95A on Echo Field Road

Echo Field Road at Playle Road 1.2 km south of Rail Trail

South

Northeast

Theater Rd. 1.8 km South of

Rail Trail

Northeast

Theatre Rd. 2.3 km south of Rail Trail

Industrial Road G which merges onto McPhee Road. From rail crossing of McPhee Road refer to Options Wildstone & Theater Rd #1 for details on access to Rotary Way

South

Wildstone Option

Rail Trail Terminus Powerline utility road access through Wildstone Industrial Rd. G McPhee Road 22nd ST. N 23rd St. N Rotary Way access at 29th & 30th. Ave. N 2.9 km length, Rail Trails to Rotary Way

Wildstone to Rotary Way Option

Cranbrook Rail Trail Terminus

CP Property

Wildstone Property

Any pathway development through Wildstone is dependant on approval and agreement with Havaday INC

Eastern Boundary of Wildstone with Powerline Row adjacent to CP’s Main Rail Line

CP Main Line

East

Wildstone Potential Access

Trail could be built within Powerline ROW adjacent to CP rails main line

BC Hydro Easement

Wildstone Golf course

BC Hydro Industrial Park Transformer Station

East

Access off property onto McPhee Road

Wildstone

BC Hydro Station

McPhee Road

McPhee Road

22nd St. North

South

From here to Rotary Way see Theater Road Option #1

Trail Options Development MatrixOptions Tot.

KmEst. Trail

/Path const.

Issues/Considerations

1 Colinson Road to Theater Road, 22nd St. N, 23rd St. N

3.05 2.15 CP rail overpass, highlights Chamber

Visitor Center

2 Colinson to Theater Road, McPhee Road, Mall Parking lot, Ridgeview Drive, Willbrook Drive

3.75 2.4 Private Property through mall parking

lot. CP rail overpass.

3 Colinson Road to Theater Road, Victoria Ave.

3.85 3.05 CP Rail overpass, Busy arterial road,

Poor esthetics

4 Colinson Road to Hwy 95A ROW, 23nd St. N

3.3 2.30 ROW very wide, best trail esthetics,

Minst. Of Highway concerns

5 Echo Field Rd, McPhee Rd, 23rd St. N

5.2 4.35 Longest, most expensive, hill climb,

Echo Rd limited pot. for trail dev.

6 Wildstone Property, McPhee Road, 22nd St. N., 23rd St N.

2.90 2.15 Shortest, utilizes all of rail trail,

Private property issues, least exp.

Report Considerations

Additional options that further mix route segments could be applied.

Actual ROW of road/highways widths were not confirmed for accuracy.

Route Segment lengths were best guess estimates only, private property boundaries were not confirmed

This report is independent of any evaluation of trail connections by City of Cranbrook staff

This report was presented from a trail user perspective and is put forward to stimulate public consultation on

further evaluation of trail connection options