February 1 2021

Our little city is growing up, stretching taller toward the skies. There are three brand new residential towers being built right now with four more just completed in the last couple of years. The next building planned is a 40 story complex that will tower above our scenic downtown core. The next few years are a time of massive growth in The Okanagan Valley. With mixed emotions I watch our beautiful city change.

Today I went downtown Kelowna and worked finishing setting up a swing stage on one of the new monoliths of humanity. Brooklyn towers above the main drag of what used to be Bargain, Bargain, Bargain, a single-story building with a store as the name would indicate. The sleepy main drag of our city is soon to be transformed. Next door a forty story high-rise is poised to rise from the ashes of Kelowna’s bargain store.

A year ago we first heard rumours of a pandemic across the globe. While many things have changed, much has remained the same. The growth of Kelowna has defied the pandemic and prognosticators and we sit on the top of a wave of growth. The question remains, is this a bubble that could burst at any time, or is it the leading edge of a massive influx of people and wealth.

And traffic.

Summertime traffic woes have been rising steadily since I arrived in this piece of paradise. Will the addition of all these towers in the downtown transform into a massive influx of traffic. Or will everyone just take to walking? In order to accommodate these newcomers, we need better transit and more bike paths. Some would argue we need another bridge.

I cringe at the thought.

It feels like our little part of heaven is being taken away. The relentless advancement of time has left me no choice but to accept the inevitable. I see the news from other parts of the world, economic doom and gloom in Alberta, I should be ecstatic at the pace our little city on the lake is building. I’m not, I’m sad that this valley is giving up part of its rustic soul.

It’s all in the name of progress. Many places the world over have changed from small rustic paradises to bustling cities. Kelowna will be no different. It’s strange how covid accelerated the process.

I got to my job site today and saw the elevator that runs up and down the outside of the building wasn’t working. I asked a few questions and got the answer that I dreaded. The skip was down and I had to walk. Twenty-three floors from the bottom, at least I got my work out for the week. I’d rather get it on my skis.

Another first-world problem.

Although we have many restrictions on our freedoms here in British Columbia, we still continue to boom with real estate prices soaring. Time will tell as we rush headlong into the future. Since moving to Kelowna I have been warned about the bubble bursting on our rising real estate prices. I’m still waiting.

The first month of 2021 is over and we have eleven more to go. How many more months will we be told to stay home? Are people staying home? Judging by the traffic most aren’t, the empty roads of March and April 2020 are a distant memory.

With tentative optimism and a sense of fear for our world, I watch my little city expand. In the new world that is dawning are we poised for greatness or will we become another drug-addled metropolis? I hope we can grab the reins of progress and hold on tight. No matter what, the next decade will be quite the ride.