Dear Mayor and Council,
I apologize for the last-minute letter; however, the timing of the Metro announcement of the purchase of the Cape Roger Curtis land has created some urgency.
It appears that at a regional park at CRC is a certainty as Council has indicated its support and Metro has announced its decision to purchase the land. We now have one known and a long list of unknowns with respect to the financial burden to Bowen and Metro. We will have to wait and see what the social impact will be for Islanders.
Whether or not camping will be permitted is one of the unknowns, most visitors will be day-trippers and in either case Bowen will be faced with significant challenges.
I am concerned that to date neither Bowen nor Metro has any concrete plan or accurate costing of how to get tens of thousands of additional visitors to and across the island, but my primary concern is dealing with the problem of moving them across the island.
If Bowen is to have any hope of dealing with short and long-range consequences of the proposed park, the following list of information is needed. With all respect to Metro, Council needs independent verification of Metro’s estimates as these will be the numbers funding agreements are based on.
Prior to making any decision to proceed with second reading Council should commission independent reports on:
1) The anticipated number of day and overnight visitors. The Metro estimate of 73,000 seems unrealistic given that their current estimate of 150,000 visitors to Crippen Park.
2) The anticipated number of visitors likely to travel by automobile, bus, bicycle, and on foot, respectively.
3) The anticipated numbers of day and overnight visitors likely to use services in Snug Cove Village.
4) The cost and timing of upgrades to Bowen Island Trunk, Grafton, Adams, Tunstall, and Whitesails roads to safely move the anticipated number of automobiles, bicycles, and pedestrians across the island. It is currently unsafe to cycle and walk along Grafton and Adams Road because of the lack of shoulders. What is the liability to Bowen Island when there is an accident on this route?
5) The cost and timing of traffic calming techniques for Tunstall Road and Whitesails Drive.
6) The design and cost of a multi-use path (MUP) to safely accommodate 2-way traffic of bicycles (including electric) and pedestrians from the ferry terminal to the park.
7) The survey and legal costs of negotiating easements across private land and the cost of expropriation where the owner is unwilling to grant an easement.
8) The environmental impact of removing trees and vegetation, replacing ditches with culverts, blasting where necessary, and paving with asphalt.
9) Quantifying the need and cost of additional public washrooms in Snug Cove Village, given that we have no sewer capacity.
10) Quantifying the need and cost of additional fire protection services.
11) Quantifying the need and cost of additional RCMP personnel to monitor traffic speed and deal with disputes.
12) Quantifying the need and cost of expanded BC Ambulance service to deal with injuries and accidents.
13) Quantifying the need and cost of additional municipal personnel for bylaw officers, road and MUP maintenance staff, ferry marshals, etc.
14) Quantifying the need and cost of additional maintenance and pit toilets at Tunstall Bay beach and other beaches easily accessible from the park.
15) The potential impact on ferry service at peak commuting hours and cost of realistic mitigations.
16) The potential need for a larger ferry service, the cost and timing of a new terminal for a larger ferry, and the potential increase in fares.
17) The feasibility, logistics, and cost of busing day visitors and campers to proposed CRC park and numbers of visitors who would reasonably use such a service and the impact on the current bus service.
Prior to second reading, Council should also have:
1) Metro Vancouver Regional Parks draft funding agreement(s) to contribute to infrastructure improvements and ongoing maintenance.
2) Translink draft funding agreement(s) to increase transportation on-island.
This is unlikely to be a complete list and I recognize that these reports and agreements will cost thousands of dollars, which should be commissioned by Bowen but at the proponent’s cost. A clear accounting of magnitude of these issues and mitigations, their costs, and draft funding agreements with Metro and Translink will be invaluable to ensure that Bowen Island understands the magnitude of the work and costs ahead and is appropriately compensated.
Council has a fiduciary responsibility as well as a moral responsibility to the community to have this information in hand before proceeding with second reading.
Sincerely,
- Tim Rhodes
