A proposed road closure in the Glen Lake area is coming to council on Monday, June 17 and at least one area resident will be there to speak out against it.
Ann Linton is fighting a small campaign to stop the closure of Mary Ellen Place, a 840 meter squared gravel road off of Glen Lake Road. The road is being considered for sale to Geoff Reid, who owns properties abutting it, for $40,000.
Linton also owns a property which abuts the road and primarily objections to the sale for the loss of what used to be a well used access point to Glen Lake. The lake is currently inaccessible there, but Linton said at one point it was an important entry point to the lake.
"(It's) a very good one for people with canoes and whatnot," Linton said. "I've been all over and I can't get any help."
She also worries about the loss of access to her lower garage by a road which is currently grown over but could be restored.
Also of concern to Linton is the loss of the honouring of the legacy of an important historical figure for B.C.
Mary Ellen Smith was the first woman to be elected to the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, in 1918, as a member for Vancouver. She remained an MLA until 1928, serving as a minister without portfolio for a time.
"The name Mary Ellen Place will be gone and I don't think there are many memorials to her," Linton said. "She was an exceptional woman."
Linton and her now deceased husband subdivided their land some years ago, and in the process had to dedicate some of the property to the road in order to widen it, roughly a five foot by 200 foot strip.
With the road closed, access to her backyard garage lost and a new residential property butting up against hers, Linton is worried the change will affect her property's value.
"(It's) the one asset I have that I can either leave to my children … or if I have to go into a home, I will have to sell this property," Linton said.
The decision on whether or not to close the road will be coming to Langford council on Monday, June 17 at 7 p.m. Persons who would be affected by the change and who wish to say something may do so at the meeting, or in writing up until 4 p.m. on Monday.
The City of Langford did not respond by Gazette deadline to a request for an interview.