Penticton bills itself as a bike-friendly city, home to a growing network of paths and routes that connect cyclists to lakes, parks, schools and businesses.

As such, it was recently awarded the status of a ‘biking precinct' by the provincial Ministry of Transportation.

The city's latest project, the Lake-to-Lake Route, was officially opened during the June 7 Pedalfest, organized by the Penticton and Area Cycling Association.

The north end of this protected six-kilometre bicycle lane through the centre of the city starts at Lakeshore Drive, alongside Okanagan Lake, uses Martin Street through the downtown, then Fairview Road and Atkinson Street to South Main Street to reach Skaha Lake. The complete route cost $8 million, with the provincial and federal governments providing $5.4 million.

Even though the project was controversial, bike counter data shows cycling continues to grow every year as a desirable mode of transportation in Penticton. There was 20% to 30% annual growth on the route since the first section was finished, despite the route not yet complete or connected to a larger protected network. Annual counts at Eckhardt Street and Martin Street were 75,343 in 2022, 96,633 in 2023 and 119,911 in 2024.

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