Park visitors, interest groups and people who live in surrounding communities will have a chance to shape future access to Cathedral Grove, with a series of open houses focusing on understanding and addressing safety concerns.
Cathedral Grove, located in MacMillan Provincial Park, at the edge of Nuu-chah-nulth territory, is an old growth forest found along Highway 4. The park has become a local, national and international attraction, with roughly 500,000 visitors per year. As the park's popularity continues to grow, so too have issues surrounding pedestrian safety and parking alongside the highway.
The Cathedral Grove Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Study is seeking public input on understanding these issues, with a series of open houses, a survey and online public engagement starting today. The goal of this engagement process is to learn more about how to address safety and parking concerns at Cathedral Grove, while protecting environmental, social and cultural values.
Input from this public consultation period, along with feedback from First Nations and local government, will be used to guide the development of future safety initiatives.
The ministry anticipates sharing initial safety concepts for further public engagement in spring 2019.
Public information sessions will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 21 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Port Alberni Friendship Centre (3555 Fourth Ave.) and in Parksville on Nov. 22 at the Oceanside Place (830 West Island Highway) from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
For those unable to attend, the information presented will be posted online after the start of the open house and an online feedback form may be filled out at:http://engage.gov.bc.ca/cathedralgrove
People may also send comments or questions to the project team by calling 250 751-3126 or by email: cathedralgrove@gov.bc.ca (mailto:cathedralgrove@gov.bc.ca).
