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‘Do not spend any more of our taxpayer dollars on this ludicrous proposal’

Letter from Allen Yeske, Christina Lake
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Photo: Submitted

To the editor,

I was shocked to see the sign about this project when I entered the parking lot at the beach.

I had heard a rumor about this a couple of years ago, but that was it. Now I see a sign saying “Coming Soon.” I am not aware of any public consultation regarding this project, or anything even answering the question whether this is in the public interest.

As a landowner at Christina Lake I am directly and adversely affected by this project in many ways, from quality of life to property values. I am absolutely opposed to the development of a campground at the beach.

This is the 0nly public access beach with any amenities at Christina Lake that is available for residents and visitors to the lake. There is a beautiful provincial campground and beach at Texas Point (Gladstone). However it is dominated by campers and I have been told that I have no right to be there unless I am camping or visiting someone who is. There are also at least seven boat access beaches that are available (if you can afford to own a boat). Then there are a couple of road allowance beach access points, such as Kingsley and Ritchie, but they have extremely limited parking and no washroom facilities.

Now the one main public access beach is proposed to become a campground, and residents and visitors to the community will be squeezed into a tiny end of the beach with very limited parking. The proposed campground is at the most popular and used end of the beach. I have seen this entire parking lot, as it is today, totally full on many hot summer days.

There are also many environmental concerns associated with this project including wildlife, birds, septic conditions and removal of trees. There is also a lot of vandalism at this beach, which may increase as a result of this project.

The absence of public consultation makes me wonder how they will inform visitors to the lake, who come every year expecting to spend quality time at the beach and contribute to our economy.

I am certain that these people would be shocked to see this proposal, and it may turn many of them away as we no longer have room for them. The only people who will gain from this project are the ones who are lucky enough to access one of these campsites. There are many privately run campgrounds struggling to make ends meet in these difficult times, and I believe this could be detrimental to them.

This park has been very poorly maintained over the past couple of decades and should be an embarrassment to the provincial government. Now they want to convert it to a campground. We do not need another provincial campground at the lake. Maybe we should just maintain this wonderful asset that we have.

Please do not spend any more of our taxpayer dollars on this ludicrous proposal. If this project proceeds I no longer want to be a resident of this beautiful lake. There is no point in living at a lake that you do not have access to.

Allen Yeske

Christina Lake