The sudden thunderstorm this afternoon created some urgency for boaters to remove their boats from Kalamalka Lake via the Kal Boat Launch. Sorry for the quality of the photos but I have taken them from my balcony and due to the distance the smoke created some problems with focusing.
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5 comments:
Time for an expanded boat launch or another one period.
The congestion was probably caused by the fact that the docks are inadequate and lack of parking has forced some boaters to have to park far away. Quit whining about it and make the suggested improvements to that area.These suggestions included using the Coldstream owned propery in front of the log house as a queing area thus easing traffic concerns and the blocking of driveways. Oh I forgot...tourism isn't important just the few constant complainers that live near that launch and seem to have the run of this current council. The rest of us can risk our families lives turning off of a highway that is proven to be fatal on numerous occasions into and overcrowded Kekuli Bay. The current council cannot even get a crosswalk to the beach fasttracked.I guess constant complaining is the only way to get things done in Coldstream. I suppose you won't have the gumption to print this comment, we only ever get one side of the issue with council and the local paper. See you at the next election, you better have your answer to these questions ready.
Pissed off resident(who voted for you)
The congestion at the Kalavista boat launch is due to too many users trying to use a facility that was never designed to accommodate a high volume of tourists and very large boats. The current deterioration of the situation started in 2005 with the expansion of the Kalavista Boat Trailer Parking Lot to accommodate more boats, prior to that time it was clear that the area had limited capacity and was intended for local residents. The attempt to be generous and share the access to this beautiful lake, has resulted in creating a living hell of chaos and anarchy on every summer weekend for local residents. Not all boaters are irresponsible but it is unfortunate that the few belligerent ones, spoil it for all the others. The local residents have never said that they wanted to shut the boat launch down, or restrict the access, it is their taxes (not tourism) that pay for all the Greater Vernon Parks facilities. These residents are just asking that a limit be put on how many boats use this facility at any one time - that limit is based on the capacity of the North End of the lake to safely host a certain density of motor boats at any one time. The pictures of boats lining up to get off the lake at the Kalavista Launch taken during yesterday's storm on Kal Lake, clearly show that we are exceeding the safe capacity. If you are a local resident, I totally understand your reluctance to use the Kekuli Launch, but it should not prevent locals from lobbying the provincial government to expand Kekuli, and make it safe, for the clearly growing tourist demand. The reason that boaters have to sometimes park far away is because they refuse to accept the fact that when the parking lot is full they may have to go somewhere else, they sometimes prefer to get a ticket, or suffer the inconvenience and stress of a long hike back to the launch. It is a very bad scene but the solution is not to enlarge the boat launch or expand the parking, it is to limit the number of users - residential parking permits, and a parking fee for non-residents of Greater Vernon would be my solution.
anonymous
The expansion of Kekuli may help in the future but the turn off and access also have to be addressed. There have been numerous accidents and fatalities on that stretch of highway caused by vehicles exiting and entering the traffic flow. In the meantime Coldstream council and some local residents have choosen to ignore recommendations put forth by Coldstream staff on improving tha launch and access. Coldstream ownes a big section of road in front of the log house which has been fenced off. By using this area boats and trucks could wait out of traffic and avoid blocking local residents driveways. The docks at the launch could also be improved to help the coming and going of traffic as boaters would have a place to dock their boats instead of waiting in the water. It seems that the current council and Kalavista Committee would rather do nothing and seem content to cry to the local paper on a weekly basis even though 77% of local Kalavista residents support the launch. I think this mayhem is what the current council wants as they ultimately have stated they would like to see boats taken off of Kalamalka Lake altogether.It is no surprise that none of them happen to be boaters. Meanwhile 68% of people in the Kalvista neighborhood own a boat and this number is probably consistent throughout Coldstream. Check out these stats from the latest Kalavista survey, you won't see any of council or the Kalavista committee refer to this study that they drafted because they didn't like the results. Perhaps we should put a stop to all building permits and put up a sign saying tourist not welcome...or just get on with life and quit complaining about everything. STOP THE WHINING!
My suggestion to all those who wish to have expanded parking at Kalavista , or a new or expanded launch (and more boats on the lake) is to step forward at the next election (Nov 2011) and run on this platform. Good luck to you!
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