Residents making waves over lake access

http://www.dailycourier.ca/article_308.php By David SkelhonMonday, June 26, 2006
Vernon residents will have better access to Okanagan Lake if city council approves a planner’s report at today’s meeting but this doesn’t sit well with some residents close to access sites.The four access sites recommended for improvement are Foster Road and Kennedy Lane (off Tronson Road) and Delcliffe Road and Whitepoint Road (off Eastside Road). The report recommends that none of the sites be used as launches for “motorized boats.” The sites are intended for locals to launch kayaks and canoes, although the report acknowledges some tourists will use them.Coun. Barry Beardsell said that there are about 50 access points along the lake but not all of them are practical for improvement. He said some of them have been taken over by adjacent land owners and he is concerned that public access to the lake is severely limited.“I’m strongly in favour of opening up these access points for the local population,” he said.Coun. Patrick Nicol agrees with Beardsell. “Most people think better lake access makes a lot of sense.” However, Nicol added that each case needs to be looked at individually.Some residents of Delcliffe Road are upset by the proposal. Resident Steve Lewis said, “we’re dead against it…these small ones (access sites) are going to cause a lot of trouble.”Lewis added, “I feel that they should sell it off and use the money to buy a parcel of land and develop that as a park.”His main concern is that the beach would be used for night-time parties.Dr. Don Lemiski, a Delcliffe resident for over 35 years, said that he supports public access in general, but doesn’t think development would be appropriate at the Delcliffe site.Also, he doesn’t believe that, “ the city has the resources to start policing, and equipping these places with sanitary facilities.” He said that the resources should be used instead to upgrade existing beaches.“There’s a tremendous jump from something that’s undeveloped to something that’s advertised as a destination beach,” he said.Like Lewis, Lemiski is worried about night-time parties.Council has committed an annual budget of $150,000 to the ongoing process of improving access. The intention is to reduce travel distances for residents wishing to launch boats.The planner’s report outlines the concerns of residents close to the access sites. There are safety and security issues and it recommends that a protocol is developed for “cooperation between the RCMP, City of Vernon Bylaw Enforcement, and a private security firm to be contracted to patrol the four sites as a pilot program for the first year of operation.”Parking is also an issue and recommendations restricting the number of parking spots and using a combination of bylaw enforcement and towing of illegally parked vehicles are proposed.