Although most people on the Coast are enjoying the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer, folks in and around Davis Bay are most definitely not.
The news that a great deal of the parking and landscaping around, arguably, the most definitive spot in our area will be razed is not sitting well. The destruction of the benches and beauty of the spot to allow for widening of the highway is goading to those who enjoy the area on a daily basis.
Sechelt council decided to give up the parking and public area outside the immediate sidewalk as an alternative to expropriating property from homeowners on the other side of the highway. And let it be said, we also don't think homeowners should be asked to sacrifice their yards for an unjustified highway extension.
It's a shame that all the efforts made in the past few years to beautify the area now seem for naught. The xeriscape landscaping that was such a lovely example to the Sunshine Coast will be dug up and replaced by yet more roadway.
Why, we wonder, was such a decision made necessary? Is it to accommodate the morons who speed around the blind corner coming to the beach from Gibsons? If that's the case, we'll be first to go on the record to say that all the changes in the world will never make our highway safe from those lawbreakers.
We think the change will be dangerous. The sidewalk is already sufficiently narrow that people frequently step off it to allow others to go by. And yes, pedestrians will still be able to cede space on the beach side, but who wants to be there the first time someone loses their balance and falls into the path of an oncoming vehicle?
If these changes go ahead, the District will have to put up a fence around the sidewalk to guarantee users' safety. How ugly will that be? It will likely end up an opportunity for every tagger on the Coast to show off their "artistic" ability.
And what will happen to the sandcastle competition? It's already a nightmare trying to park in the area when the castle builders are out in force. Take a wide road with no buffer area next to the sidewalk, a gaggle of excited kids and distracted spectators, and you have a recipe for disaster.
We say it's never too late to admit you've made a mistake. Please, Sechelt council, do the thing you pride yourself on -listen to the citizens of the District. Tell the highways department that Davis Bay is fine the way it is. If speed's a concern, take a page out of Gibsons' notebook and build speed bumps through the area.
We know we're too numerically insignificant to warrant a highway bypass for those in a hurry. But please, we beg of you, don't pave paradise.
