Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure personnel met with stakeholders in the Yellow Lake fishery at the Keremeos and Cawston Sportsman Association clubhouse last Wednesday to discuss some unpopular planned access restrictions to Yellow Lake.
Local recreation and fishermen’s clubs are upset about the ministry plans to eliminate what they say are important access points to one of the interior’s most easily accessed fishing lakes.
Ministry Project Manager Rampaul Dulay cited safety improvements as the main reasons for the road widening project, informing the dozen or so members of the public in attendance that the project would increase shoulder width along Yellow Lake to two metres, improve pedestrian and cyclist safety, improve highway sight lines, improve rock fall protection, and improve safety by installation of concrete barriers along both sides of the highway.
Roughly 2,000 concrete barrier sections will be needed to line both sides of the highway.
Out of the current three pullouts between either end of the lake, two will be eliminated with the completion of the present work due to safety concerns. The only remaining one happens to be the mid lake pullout containing the pumphouse for the lake aerator.
“We are here to listen to your concerns,” Dulay told those attending. He noted that the project had not been subject to much public input prior to the start of construction, and that work had been plagued by geotechnical issues as well as a delay caused by Telus, who were slow in relocating their fiber optic lines.
Dulay was apologetic for the last seven months of constant shutdowns and delays.
“Hopefully, in a couple more months we will be finished, and in the long haul we will all find the improvements to be a benefit,” he said.
Ed Wruk, Project Designer, told the group that the two pullouts were eliminated in the design work due to safety concerns, citing design speeds of 80 kilometres an hour as not providing enough sightlines for traffic using the pullouts. He pointed out data indicating that the strip of highway along Yellow Lake had been the scene of 55 accidents over the last 10 years.
A question from the audience asking if restricting access to the pullouts only to right hand turns was reasonable was answered by Wruk that, yes it was, but “you can’t control what people will do when they are in the pullout.”
The audience was highly skeptical of ministry insistence that sightline distance was an issue, with many commenting that the more formal pullouts at either end of the lake had equally bad sightlines, but the ministry had no plans to alter them.
“It’s a convenient excuse,” said one member in attendance.
Wruk admitted that sightlines weren’t achieved at either end.
Doug Boult, President of the KCSA, commented to those assembled that “4the pedestrian part of fishing would be gone” with the loss of the pullouts.
Paul Askey, Fisheries Stock Assessment Biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resource Operations told the gathering, “Shore fishing at Yellow Lake is a gem... it’s the only place in the area where you can do it.
There is a high number of angler days on the lake that adds a big charge to the economy. We are encouraging young families to fish. With a two metre shoulder, we are running the risk of illegal parking in these areas. It’s a dilemma - increasing highway speed versus increasing fishing opportunities.”
Askey further noted that the lake sees 5,000 “angler days” between May and September, with an unknown number of “boat days”. Others expressed the view that the lake was even more popular in the winter.
Keremeos resident Ken Sward reirterated the potential dangers presented at the west end pull out, commenting that the remaining mid point pull out will be jammed.
“What you folks are proposing to do is a recipe for disaster,” he said, “you aren’t seeing the full use of the lake with the construction going on,” to which he received a scattering of applause.
Officials were asked at least twice if the ministry was actually willing to reconsider the closure of the pullouts, or was it a done deal.
“We’re here to consider this - we have more information, and we’ll take a look at it again. In the end, we’re working for you - safety is a prime concern,” Dulay said.
Wruk expressed concern about possible liability exposure should design requirements not be adhered to by leaving the pullouts open.
One member of the audience felt that cyclists were benefitting most by the six million dollars worth of improvements for one day in the year (Ironman) while fishing enthusiasts “can’t get a parking lot.”
Several more comments were made, skeptical of the ministry’s excuse over sightlines, arguing that people would continue to try and access the lake at midpoints without the pullouts, resulting in even greater safety issues.
Ministry officials promised to take the arguments back to executive levels to see if anything could be done.
“We don’t want to detract from shore fishing intentionally - but we do have design constraints,” Wruk concluded.
Members of the Keremeos - Cawston Sportsman Association requested an answer from the ministry to be passed on to Doug Boult prior to final paving, which is expected to take place in late September.