Choose a Public Park over Private Development
Dear Council,
I’m a resident of Bowen Island and would just like to express my support for the creation of the park given the rather vocal opposition.
More than anything, I believe in the importance of camping as a way for people to connect with nature and a cultural trait of being Canadian. I often find it strange that there’s no place on Bowen where I can go camping with my family beyond my backyard. And equally, for residents of metro Vancouver, the idea of a camping site that is accessible by public transit or bicycle just makes sense.
I also find that the opposition views this as a debate between a camping site and not camping site, when in fact it is about creating public space versus private development. While I fully appreciate and share concerns over access to the ferry in the summertime for residents, I’m not convinced the construction of multiple large houses won’t use up a lot of ferry capacity in their own right.
I also feel like it’s unfair to fully link our ferry capacity struggles with the campsite. By the same logic, are we against all activities that will increase tourism on Bowen like new cideries, wedding venues, etc. Would the goal be to make Bowen an unattractive place to live so that we don’t have as many ferry capacity issues?
I appreciate that this is surely a challenging time for Council given how polarizing this campsite has become and I trust that you will do what is best for our island. I simply wanted to voice my support so that you appreciate both perspectives.
Sincerely,
- Kahlil Baker
Thinking about the Ecology Factor
I am writing once again to voice my opposition to the proposed park and camping at Cape Roger Curtis.
I do not believe that Metro Vancouver, or anyone else, has the ability to manage the many thousands of people that will come through the ferry system with and without cars, which will adversely impact our community, changing the fabric of this island forever. I have made various points on this many times.
I understand that those in favour of the park with or without camping are concerned about saving the ecology of this land. I should say “the remaining ecology,” because anyone who has been to the land in question will notice that what was once a pristine wilderness has been destroyed by the development of roads and driveways to access 24 cleared lots. If left alone, this land could recover, but with the proposed development, it will not be allowed to recover, as it will be walked (and driven) over by hundreds of people every day.
What of the truly delicate areas that remain — those in protected areas dotted about the property? When I spoke with Lydia Mynott at the Metro Open House in March, she said that those areas would be fenced. When I asked her about the ground, which is rough with loose large rocks, roots and deadfall, she said they would probably build boardwalks. When I asked about the shoreline near the proposed “walk-in tenting area” (now clear-cut, flattened, and covered in crushed-rock), she didn’t know how that would be handled, but recognized it would be hazardous for people attempting to enter the water from there. In the same area is a large, blasted rock face which is already crumbling into the road and will have to be contained either with fencing or concrete.
So with fences, boardwalks, and clearings for campgrounds, all trodden by people who neither own the land nor live in the community, but just want to have some fun, what remains of this ecosystem that people so desperately want to protect?
I would suggest that you have been sold a dream that is not based in reality. It is a fantasy, just like the “electric passenger ferry” is a fantasy. You are attempting to save land by inviting thousands of people onto it, just as you are attempting to help solve ferry and transportation problems by inviting thousands more people through it.
I urge our Mayor and Council to really think about this community of people, the ecology of the CRC land, and the ecosytem — humans included — of this fragile island we live on. I urge you not to change our Official Community Plan to allow camping, but instead take the time with it to bring it more in line with preservation and protection of our land, our water, and our people, now and into the future.
Sincerely,
- Marian Bantjes
Having a Say in What Happens
Earlier this month I marked my eighth year living on Bowen. Like others, I came here to enjoy the easy closeness to nature. I marked the occasion by doing what I do most mornings – walking in one of the island’s parks. Saturday’s walk was my very favorite type: I didn’t meet another soul.
Eight years living here full-time still makes me a relative newcomer in some people’s eyes, but it’s long enough to have seen many changes. The Cove, for instance, looks very different than it did when I first moved here. I’ve talked with people who’ve lived here for decades longer than I have, and with others who were born and raised here. To varying degrees, they seem wistful about the former days when community meant you pretty much knew everyone and much less of the island was a built environment.
However long we’ve been here, we are all privileged to enjoy the island and the deep nurturing that living close to nature provides. It’s well established that experiences in nature promote psychological well-being. We are right to want to be careful with what we have, to want to preserve its beauty as well as – to whatever extent possible – what remains of its tranquility.
But what’s possible? Although we live on an island, our proximity to a large urban centre means we’re not isolated. What will the future look like with the pressures of the estimated one-million more people who will be living in the Lower Mainland by 2050? Already many of us avoid the Cove during the crush of the tourist season; the future is not going to bring fewer people.
And do we have the right to exclude others from the advantages of time in nature? We already know the benefits we’ve experienced living in such a beautiful place; we have the chance to include others in a way that will contribute to their mental health too. The world is a crazy place, and it will get crazier as the climate emergency deepens. We need as many mentally healthy people as we can get, not just here on this small island, but everywhere.
While it might not be exactly the future each of us wants, the park proposal for Cape Roger Curtis gives us a chance to have some say in what happens. At the public meeting I attended, it was clear to me that those who spoke on behalf of Regional Parks were aware of the many concerns expressed by Bowen residents and were interested in creatively addressing them. The proposal offers us the considerable expertise of Metro Vancouver Regional Parks to protect the remaining natural areas and rewild areas that have been disturbed. Working with Regional Parks also gives us a lot more clout in addressing ferry and traffic issues that are so critical. The phased-in nature of the planned park will provide further opportunity for identifying problems and developing solutions.
Without the park and the support of Metro Vancouver Regional Parks, we will still have more visitors – many, many more visitors in the future – but without the added weight of Metro Vancouver in dealing with increased car and ferry traffic. We will have mega-houses, less protection of the rare coastal ecosystem, and less access to a natural environment. I just can’t see that being the better outcome for those who need more access to nature, or for those of us already living on Bowen.
- Elaine Cameron
