The Strathcona Regional District has agreed to consider a letter of support for the BC Marine Trails Network (BCMT) for planning around recreation sites on public land on the Discovery Islands.
Not everyone is on board with the proposed marine trail to connect areas around Vancouver Island.
Area C Director Jim Abram once again expressed concern at the idea when it was added to the agenda at the July 18 board meeting. He has said Quadra Island, for example, is at its limits in terms of what it can handle for visits, as residents face everything from a lack of parking to torn-up roads. Though he supported the idea at a “high-level” or perhaps a specific plan in the future, his electoral area is in the process of starting a plan to look at sustainability for Quadra and the Discovery Islands.
“The concern is that we have a major process that we waited 10 years for, the sustainability plan,” he said. “Now, we’re finally going to do it.”
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John Kimantas, the Discovery Island Marine Trail project manager, had sent a request for a letter of support from the SRD after appearing before the board at a meeting in June.
“The BCMT is aware of the opposition of Electoral Area C Director Jim Abram to the Discovery Islands Marine Trail proposal, citing mainly capacity concerns and a conflict with the upcoming Electoral Area C Integrated Community Sustainability Plan,” Kimantas wrote in his request.
“The difficulty with Mr. Abram’s position is the overall project goes well beyond the boundaries of Electoral Area C. Other communities and regional districts are in favor of this proposal and are well-positioned to take advantage of it.”
Abram said there had been consultation with the community through the Discovery Islands chambers of commerce and some First Nations, saying they do not agree with the idea of providing a letter. He added he has received untold numbers of phone calls and emails from people opposed to the plan, including people running established kayaking businesses that might be expected to support the marine trail network.
“They think we have gone too far, and we have actually overloaded the system,” he said.
The marine trail organizers, he said, had already been putting points of interest for the public to use on their website.
Charlie Cornfield, one of the Campbell River directors, had brought forward the motion to provide a letter. He said he has been involved with the process since the 1990s, adding it is only a planning exercise to link the marine trails and not about building them.
“The goal is to have one marine trail that allows people to travel all the way down the coast of North America,” he said. “It’s about the management of the facilities that we‘ve got there now. Demand is increasing, we aren’t going to stop that…. The best you can do is manage it.”
Mayor Andy Adams, another Campbell River director, reiterated Cornfield’s points.
“We’re not going to be able to put a wall in the water. The kayaks are coming,” he said.
All of the board, except for Abram, supported the initial motion to receive the letter. However, Abram asked for the request of a letter of support to be deferred until a meeting in November for the regional district to consider any additional information. This motion passed with Cornfield, John McDonald and Larry Samson opposing.
(NOTE: This story has been updated from the original.)
