West Kelowna declares winter over

The City of West Kelowna is saying goodbye to winter and its crews are preparing parks, sports courts and athletic fields and sweeping streets with spring in the air.

Crews will open the Boucherie and Lakeview pickleball courts and tennis courts throughout the city this Saturday (Mar. 6). Seasonal restroom buildings and portable washrooms will open by Good Friday, April 2 for the Easter long weekend. Sports fields will open mid-April, weather dependent and with permitted uses in keeping with Provincial Health Orders for COVID-19.

The Kids Care Spray Park will open in mid-May, before Victoria Day long weekend, weather dependent, and with COVID-19 group size regulations in place. Parks users may occasionally find some areas temporarily out of bounds over the next several weeks as crews trim trees and conduct cleaning and repairs.

Crews have started cleaning sidewalks and transit stops. They will begin street sweeping March 8, weather permitting. Crews will begin in Westbank Centre, move to other lower lying neighbourhoods such as Gellatly the week of March 15 and gradually work their way to higher elevation neighbourhoods, finishing in Glenrosa by mid-April, weather cooperating.

City worker will place signs at neighbourhood entrances in advance, giving a range of dates for street sweeping. Residents should park off street during these times to ensure thorough cleaning. Residents should not sweep debris into piles on the road as this significantly slows progress.

City staff will also out filling potholes. When asphalt plants start up later in the spring, more permanent patching can begin.

Spring officially begins March 20.