As Eaglecliff Road winds north from Scarborough, there’s a sharp turn to the left where the trees have been cleared exposing a sharp drop-off which has recently had a driveway installed alongside framing for a new house.
For a while, when construction first began, there were no concrete barriers separating the roadway from the steep, bare, hillside. On Monday, council voted to approve the building of a retaining wall and a one-metre easement on the side of the road to allow pedestrians room to walk along the side of the road safely.
Eaglecliff resident Carol Fancy walks the road every day, and says that she is among a large number of locals who are very concerned about the road’s safety and the construction site in general.
“How are they going to build an easement there? There’s no land,” Fancy says. “There used to be more earth there, but it’s all eroded now on the other side of the concrete barriers. And this is a double corner going down hill; it is almost impossible for two vehicles any larger than sedans to pass one another coming from opposite directions, and if you happen to be a pedestrian you have to hop over the concrete barriers and find a place to stand while that’s happening.”
Lisa Rainbird, who walks two dogs down Eaglecliff Road, says she’s glad to hear that some kind of walkway will be created, but feels the project should not have been approved in the first place.
“It was even worse in the winter when the roads were wet, but both pedestrians and cars are at risk because of this construction and I don’t see why we should shoulder a risk like that, not to mention tax dollars, just so someone from Calgary or wherever can build a house there,” says Rainbird.
Municipal CAO Kathy Lalonde says that when the trees came down along that portion of the road the work became more obvious to passersby, causing alarm.
“The gentleman who owns the property has been trying to build for a number of years now, and for various reasons he’s had to change his plans several time,” says Lalonde. “But this project has been very much on the radar of our public works department, particularly with regards to the safety aspects.”
When asked whether the property is comparable to other steep properties on Bowen where homes have been built, she said that this property is the steepest she is aware of.
“This could be the reason why some of our councillors have brought up the possibility of reconsidering the steep-slopes bylaw that was proposed two terms ago,” says Lalonde.
Councillor Sue Ellen Fast says she would like to see this bylaw be reconsidered, although she prefers the term “hazardous slopes” to describe it.
“In North Vancouver, we’ve seen houses slide into gullies due to heavy rains. Here on Bowen I’ve heard of mud and rocks coming through people’s windows, particularly if there are construction projects happening above them,” says Fast. “I don’t see it as an environmental bylaw but as a safety planning bylaw, but within the context of climate changes – rising sea levels and extreme storms. we need to be extra vigilant about keeping people safe.”
Fast adds that she voted in favour of allowing this easement and retaining wall to be built because municipal engineering assistant, Al Fontes, assured council that it would make the roadway more safe than it is currently.
Hazardous slopes bylaws are currently on the list of priorities for council to take on in 2016.
