A group of residents who led the petition to stop the Highway 101 widening in Davis Bay are now forming a society to ensure the area is preserved and enhanced in the future.
"It's not recognized to anyone as a parkway. It's just a highway, so we want to convert just a highway into a parkway combining both features of vehicular traffic and a place for people to enjoy," said Davis Bay Parkway Society (DBPS) member Doug Reid.
The DBPS had their first meeting June 21 with steering committee members Reid, Locki Brock, Sue Adams, Joyce Hubbs and Bill Hubbs in attendance.
The society's goals are to research and recommend ways to widen the walking surface of the seawall, beautify the area with more landscaping and ensure there is adequate parking and bike path allowances on the Davis Bay seawall, which runs from Bay Road to Chapman Creek.
The group also plans to push the alternate highway agenda to decrease traffic in the area.
Reid said the goals for the parkway became clear when comments were received while people were signing the highway widening petition last year.
"So we are picking up on that and saying that if we have a citizens' group supporting that objective, then we will be doing a good service for the community. Thus, we have the five people who have started this campaign, and we intend to invite members to join - we hope to get many hundreds of people to join," Reid said.
Members of the new DBPS can come from any area of the Sunshine Coast or the world, for that matter.
"We're open to everyone, wherever they come from - Canada, the United States, wherever. People who signed the petition were from all over the world. We just want people to join who recognize the value of that landscape," Reid said.
The cost to join is a minimum contribution of $2. Reid notes there will be a membership table set up on the seawall in the coming weeks for those interested in joining.
"We're just about to start a membership campaign. We'll have a card table in Davis Bay at various times and dates," Reid said.
Once the group reaches 50 members, Reid said they will start talking to various levels of government about the improvements sought.
"We will be advising all of the governments, so that's DFO [Department of Fisheries and Oceans], the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, the SCRD [Sunshine Coast Regional District], the Davis Bay Community Association, District of Sechelt and the SIGD [Sechelt Indian Government District] and any other legitimate body that could in some way further our objectives," Reid said.
"We are not a protest group, we are an advocacy group."
