Sechelt council has approved six drag racing days at the Sechelt Airport, despite safety concerns raised by the airport manager and a staff recommendation that the schedule be reduced to four days with a fifth date set aside to use if one of the others gets rained out.
Airport manager Greg Caple told council the relationship with the Sunshine Coast Drag Racing Association (SCDRA) is good, but there were safety issues during the 2017 season, including five aircraft “incursions” in four hours during a September event, despite a Transport Canada notice to aviators that the airport was closed.
He also outlined a situation where radio communication between the SCDRA volunteers on the ground and aircraft was mishandled.
But Caple put most of the blame on aviators who were not following the rules.
“Bottom line is if the strip does not appear to be in use, aviators feel they have a right to use it,” Caple said in a written submission to council. “So the question is: How does the District of Sechelt, as an aerodrome operator, address the problem, which is really no fault of the SCDRA specifically? Their events, however, contribute to a serious safety concern.”
Richard Austin, speaking for the SCDRA, said the association is committed to working with the airport to ensure properly trained radio operators are available on race days and that there was no reason to reduce the schedule because of lower attendance at some events, as district staff had suggested.
Austin said the proposed schedule for 2018 was designed to boost attendance, and included moving an April date to July instead to take advantage of more reliable weather.
Coun. Noel Muller asked whether the association is looking for alternative locations to use when the airport finally becomes too busy to safely accommodate drag racing.
Austin said there’s no backup location at the moment, and building a strip isn’t practical.
“We’ve got 30,000 people who could drive to our events, otherwise everyone has to come from offshore,” Austin said. “In theory we could build something, but would it be financially successful?”
Mayor Bruce Milne said although council supports the SCDRA and recognizes the popularity of drag racing on the Coast, he too thinks it’s time to start considering a plan B.
“What we’ve found in the last couple of years in Sechelt is that the future is overtaking us faster and faster … and people are thinking, ‘Oh, this is five years out or 10 years out,’ and in fact that’s tomorrow,” Milne said.
“I really want us to start thinking about plan B and how that might be financed, if it’s a complex financing issue, and how it might be done without financing if it has to be, and where the best location is.”
Coun. Darnelda Siegers also urged Caple and the SCDRA to report back regularly after events to keep council in the loop about any issues that come up.
The race days approved for 2018 are:
• May 26 (test and tune for members only).
• May 27 (racing).
• June 23 (test and tune for members only).
• July 14 (test and tune for members only).
• Aug. 12 (racing).
• Sept. 9 (test and tune for members only, or rain date for Aug. 12 event).
