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Boaters blasted

Coldstream residents upset with boaters taking over swimming areas, mussel protection sought, bus costs adjusted, traffic calmed
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Some Coldstream beach-goers are making waves over boats causing safety issues.

Specifically, there have been complaints of boats coming into the swimming area and beaching at Sovereign Park.

“The beach at Sovereign is used by many people on a daily basis, and especially by families with small children,” Edie Watt said in a recent letter in The Morning Star.

“Since motor boats have been allowed on the lake, there have been several occasions when the motor boats have come right on to the beach to pick up passengers or to dock for a while. When told they are not to come into the swimming area, they can be very confrontational.”

Watt approached the District of Coldstream about the issue but was told it is not the municipality’s issue.

Yet the issue was raised at council Monday evening.

“In terms of boaters encroaching the beach, it’s a difficult thing to monitor,” said Trevor Seibel, Coldstream’s chief administrative officer.

Mayor Jim Garlick suggests reporting those who are not obeying rules on the water to the RCMP.

“Boats have call numbers on them so there are ways of reporting them,” said Garlick.

A canoe, which was chained up at the beach, was also recently removed by authorities.

Launch closure suggested

Protection of the gem that is Kalamalka Lake is top of mind in Coldstream.

Mayor Jim Garlick recently attended a meeting with MP Mel Arnold and other interested parties on the fight against invasive mussels.

“Something more drastic has to be done with inspections and what we’re going to allow into our lake,” said Garlick.

He suggested an option for better control could be to shut down extra launches at lakes, something that is done is Saskatchewan.

“I mentioned that we only have one launch operating at this time and two others are closed. That may be a way of policing.”

Relief on route

Costs have been adjusted for those supporting getting kids to school.

The UBCO-Connector costs are going down for Enderby, Vernon, Coldstream and Lumby. While costs are increasing for Armstrong, BX-Swan Lake, Silver Star and rural Lumby. Spallumcheen costs remain the same.

The changes follow a recent survey of riders to determine who is travelling from where.

“Our requisition went down - some areas went up,” said Coldstream Mayor Jim Garlick.

Coldstream has the most substantial savings of $26,748, followed by Vernon at $2,319, Enderby with $1,445 and Lumby paying $1,296 less.

Silver Star will pay $9,639 more, followed by BX-Swan Lake at $7,259, rural Lumby with a $5,783 increase and Armstrong at $4,007.

Meanwhile Coldstream is considering additional support for university students, and the environment with a park and ride.

“Vernon has paid park and ride next to the forestry research centre and we do have property we could look at,” said Garlick.

Traffic slows

Enforcement is making a difference.

Additional police presence at “hot spots” in Coldstream has resulted in a drop in speeders since increased presence began in 2014.

“The number of infractions per hour has steadily decreased since the program’s inception,” said Trevor Seibel, Coldstream’s chief administrative officer, in a report on the first six months of 2017, compared to the last four months of 2014. “Total infractions per hour dropped from 5.75 to 1.85.”

Buchannan, Aberdeen and Kalamalka roads as Middleton Way and Hill Drive are some of the main areas monitored, where the district receives complaints about speeding.

“As we receive complaints from other areas of the community, resources are deployed to those areas to assess the concerns received,” said Seibel.

Coun. Richard Enns is hoping additional enforcement can take place on Coldstream Creek Road in time for the start of the school year.

“Typically what happens in September is there is a lot of speeding that takes place,” said Enns, whose fence was taken out in the past by a vehicle.

Coldstream has also ordered a new speed reader board and plans to use it on Sage Drive and other areas as needed.

jennifer@vernonmorningstar.com



Jennifer Smith

About the Author: Jennifer Smith

Vernon has always been my home, and I've been working at The Morning Star since 2004.
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