The stairs leading down to Witty’s Lagoon park will remain closed for the remainder of the year and early into 2015, according to CRD Regional Parks.
“It’s kind of like if you were to picture a bowl of jelly on top of a pile of marbles, and the marbles are moving,” said CRD Parks senior manager Mike Walton of the unstable hillside. “The (stairs and pathway) are going to remain closed until the public safety issue is addressed. We’ve received the engineers’ report, and we’re reviewing it now.”
CRD Parks will explore various solutions, then put forward a report to the regional district’s parks committee early next year to begin the process of shoring up the crumbling slope, Walton said. “We encourage people to use the main entrance and enjoy that forest path down to the beach,” he said of the 1.2-kilometre trail. “Or there are picnic areas and ocean views from Tower Point, off Olympic View Drive, and that path is only about 500 metres and relatively flat.”
He reiterated that right now, if people choose to go down via the stairs, they would be trespassing on private property. The stairs have been closed since February of this year.
acowan@goldstreamgazette.com