It was a tough weekend for emergency responders at Cultus Lake.
With beachgoers flocking to the area, and parking where they shouldnB次元官网网址檛, firefighters had a terrible time getting to calls. ItB次元官网网址檚 an annual problem along the Columbia Valley Highway, and this time it was caught on video. Two Cultus Lake Fire Department engines creep along the route, sirens blaring, trying to thread the needle between traffic on one side and parked cars on the other.
B次元官网网址淧eople are worried and frustrated and itB次元官网网址檚 time for a solution,B次元官网网址� said local resident Taryn Dixon. B次元官网网址淎nd it may be time for a tough solution.B次元官网网址�
The past few years, B.C.B次元官网网址檚 Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) has placed pylons along the roadway to discourage visitors from parking along the side. Dixon said there are fewer of them this year, and they havenB次元官网网址檛 been much of a deterrent.
B次元官网网址淭hey get pushed over the edge or tossed in the lake,B次元官网网址� she noted. B次元官网网址淚 fished a bunch of them out (of the lake) yesterday morning. People park well into the travel lane, and then thereB次元官网网址檚 nowhere to walk, so people are walking in the travel lane. They stand in the middle of the road and talk to someone in a vehicle when others are trying to get by.
B次元官网网址淧eople are trying to drive as carefully as possible, but you never know when a door is going to fling open or someoneB次元官网网址檚 going to bring their kids out onto the road.B次元官网网址�
Dixon is well connected as the Fraser Valley Regional DistrictB次元官网网址檚 director for Electoral Area H, and she has been sounding the alarm about this for years. She has made Chilliwack-Kent MLA Kelli Paddon aware of it, and has asked the RCMP about increasing ticketing and enforcement.
B次元官网网址淭he real concern is nothing has changed, beyond more and more people coming to Cultus Lake on hot days,B次元官网网址� Dixon said. B次元官网网址淔or eight years IB次元官网网址檝e been going to the Union of B.C. Municipalities and the province, and weB次元官网网址檙e still in the same place.B次元官网网址�
Dixon said RCMP is the only entity with the authority to ticket or tow, and she acknowledged they have to make decisions on where to deploy resources on busy summer days. But Dixon suggested people who park illegally do so knowing thereB次元官网网址檚 no enforcement.
B次元官网网址淚n addition to the pylons, there are sign-boards asking people to respect no-parking zones, warning them towing is in effect and telling them emergency vehicles need access, but those are obviously ignored,B次元官网网址� she observed. B次元官网网址淭he public believes they can park wherever they want because nothing will happen, and I can see why they think that.B次元官网网址�
To allow the FVRD to ticket and tow would require changes to provincial legislation, and Dixon said that would be B次元官网网址渁 process.B次元官网网址�
SheB次元官网网址檚 suggested allowing B.C. Parks staff to ticket and tow, and had that idea shot down.
SheB次元官网网址檚 suggested limiting the number of visitors allowed into the park using a day pass system, but that hasnB次元官网网址檛 gone anywhere.
B次元官网网址淲hen the lots are full in the B.C. Parks area, is there a way to close the road to locals only?B次元官网网址� Dixon mused. B次元官网网址淲hen those lots are full, it means there are no legal parking spaces. If the goal is to keep people from parking on the side of the road, limiting the number of people coming up is a way to do that.B次元官网网址�
ThereB次元官网网址檚 even been talk of a shuttle bringing people into Cultus Lake Provincial Park, to keep cars out.
There have been lots of ideas, Dixon said, but little action.
B次元官网网址淔or people living around the lake, this is our highway, our only road in and out of our area, and on any main road thereB次元官网网址檚 no way this should be acceptable,B次元官网网址� Dixon said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e asking that it be protected and kept safe for people who live here, but also for guests, and emergency personnel who struggle to get where they need to go.
B次元官网网址淭his needs to be addressed before something tragic happens.B次元官网网址�
eric.welsh@theprogress.com
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