The following letter was sent to the Vernon Morning Star, November 1st, after a similar letter was sent to Coldstream Councilors and Traffic Safety Committee members, October 31, 2008, by Coldstream Council Candidate, Greig Crockett.
Kalavista Lagoon Parking and Park Extension
Hostile reaction to suggestions such as relocating the Kal Lagoon Tennis Courts, emanating from the Coldstream Traffic Safety Committee looking into traffic congestion around the parking lot for the Kalavista boat launch, result from the overly narrow mandate outlined for the committee by Coldstream Council.
Gratuitous recommendations from one committee member published in the Morning Star October 29th, “Boat Launch Fix on Hold”, tinker with local parking but do not address traffic congestion. The decision to table them at the last Council meeting was entirely appropriate but not sufficient to put this review on a proper footing. The committee must be empowered to consider continued existence of the parking lot, which attracts much of the objectionable traffic.
In medicine, the best cure for pain is to eliminate the cause; not simply reduce or control it.
In this case, the 50 foot truck-trailer combinations driven in some large measure, as several residents have noted, by obnoxious power boat owners who have little regard for the local environment or its inhabitants, and an arrogant air of entitlement to the exclusive, full-time reserved parking space at Kalavista, is causing much pain:
1) on the narrow roads already congested with vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic,
2) in the over crowded, shallow waters of the bay,
3) with the besieged and disgruntled neighbours,
4) among Coldstream residents generally, who feel overwhelmed on the roads and squeezed out of a local launch, and
5) among those concerned about the health & safety of the Lake and beach area.
The majority of people using this parking lot do not cruise their power boats anywhere near it. They simply race out of the bay beyond Rattle Snake Point. The mud parking lot adds nothing to the splendour of Coldstream. It sits empty most of the year and many days in summer, while tennis players and people strolling to the beach etc are forced to skirt around this prime piece of realty. Parking would appear to represent the 'lowest & worst use' of this largely abandoned space in the centre of one of the most pedestrian, popular and potentially scenic parts of Coldstream adjacent to Kal Beach, Tennis, and the Lagoon.
Eliminating the pain of truck traffic is as simple as eliminating the parking lot. This would present a number of advantages for reduced traffic, pedestrian safety, peace on the lake, and quality of the water for swimming and drinking. It also opens the possibility of using the mud lot for a much 'higher & better use', for a much larger proportion of the public, for a much longer period of time both daily and yearly; as a public green space.
Since this option might appear to be the best cure for the pain, it should be included in the Committee's mandate. Initiating a charge for parking will merely beg a profit from the pain. Offering parking permits will simply change the demographic of those causing the pain. Imposing time limits for parked vehicles adds irritation. These "Band-Aid" measures offer only compensation and consolation for a continuing and more complex pain, which will undoubtedly become more inflamed with time.
The power boaters have an alternative; Kekuli Bay. Sufficient parking space can be created there, much closer to their destination, without congesting and adding danger to a popular public beach area. A Kekuli marina could also be considered.
The Kalavista launch itself can remain for use of those who 'launch and go'.
I would suggest the time has come for Coldstream to do whatever may be necessary in consultation with regional and provincial authorities to:
- claim its territory,
- establish its jurisdiction, and
- create an outstanding, more universally popular park in harmony with the established residential, pedestrian and recreational uses surrounding the once wild and lovely Lagoon.
More public green space by Kal Beach would be greatly appreciated by a much wider population of Coldstream and Greater Vernon Area residents.
It would seem appropriate to let the incoming council reconstitute the committee and revise the scope of its investigation.
Greig Crockett
Telephone: 250-260-5877
Email:clhull@telus.net
Kalavista Lagoon Parking and Park Extension
Hostile reaction to suggestions such as relocating the Kal Lagoon Tennis Courts, emanating from the Coldstream Traffic Safety Committee looking into traffic congestion around the parking lot for the Kalavista boat launch, result from the overly narrow mandate outlined for the committee by Coldstream Council.
Gratuitous recommendations from one committee member published in the Morning Star October 29th, “Boat Launch Fix on Hold”, tinker with local parking but do not address traffic congestion. The decision to table them at the last Council meeting was entirely appropriate but not sufficient to put this review on a proper footing. The committee must be empowered to consider continued existence of the parking lot, which attracts much of the objectionable traffic.
In medicine, the best cure for pain is to eliminate the cause; not simply reduce or control it.
In this case, the 50 foot truck-trailer combinations driven in some large measure, as several residents have noted, by obnoxious power boat owners who have little regard for the local environment or its inhabitants, and an arrogant air of entitlement to the exclusive, full-time reserved parking space at Kalavista, is causing much pain:
1) on the narrow roads already congested with vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic,
2) in the over crowded, shallow waters of the bay,
3) with the besieged and disgruntled neighbours,
4) among Coldstream residents generally, who feel overwhelmed on the roads and squeezed out of a local launch, and
5) among those concerned about the health & safety of the Lake and beach area.
The majority of people using this parking lot do not cruise their power boats anywhere near it. They simply race out of the bay beyond Rattle Snake Point. The mud parking lot adds nothing to the splendour of Coldstream. It sits empty most of the year and many days in summer, while tennis players and people strolling to the beach etc are forced to skirt around this prime piece of realty. Parking would appear to represent the 'lowest & worst use' of this largely abandoned space in the centre of one of the most pedestrian, popular and potentially scenic parts of Coldstream adjacent to Kal Beach, Tennis, and the Lagoon.
Eliminating the pain of truck traffic is as simple as eliminating the parking lot. This would present a number of advantages for reduced traffic, pedestrian safety, peace on the lake, and quality of the water for swimming and drinking. It also opens the possibility of using the mud lot for a much 'higher & better use', for a much larger proportion of the public, for a much longer period of time both daily and yearly; as a public green space.
Since this option might appear to be the best cure for the pain, it should be included in the Committee's mandate. Initiating a charge for parking will merely beg a profit from the pain. Offering parking permits will simply change the demographic of those causing the pain. Imposing time limits for parked vehicles adds irritation. These "Band-Aid" measures offer only compensation and consolation for a continuing and more complex pain, which will undoubtedly become more inflamed with time.
The power boaters have an alternative; Kekuli Bay. Sufficient parking space can be created there, much closer to their destination, without congesting and adding danger to a popular public beach area. A Kekuli marina could also be considered.
The Kalavista launch itself can remain for use of those who 'launch and go'.
I would suggest the time has come for Coldstream to do whatever may be necessary in consultation with regional and provincial authorities to:
- claim its territory,
- establish its jurisdiction, and
- create an outstanding, more universally popular park in harmony with the established residential, pedestrian and recreational uses surrounding the once wild and lovely Lagoon.
More public green space by Kal Beach would be greatly appreciated by a much wider population of Coldstream and Greater Vernon Area residents.
It would seem appropriate to let the incoming council reconstitute the committee and revise the scope of its investigation.
Greig Crockett
Telephone: 250-260-5877
Email:clhull@telus.net
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