Given the recent restrictions on many of the waterfront access sites in and around Prince Rupert, have you found somewhere new? Do you have a place to go to for a nice picnic, to skip rocks, to walk along the harbour?
The places I miss most are the Ridley Island beaches and the waterfront access from Fairview to Kwinitsa(?).
I always thought I had it bad growing up without the gondola up the mountain and scheduled ferry service to Salt Lakes Provincial Park- it turns out I had more to be thankful for than I knew.
In regards to Salt Lakes- I understand it to have been replaced by Oliver Lake- giving Oliver Lake Provincial Park status instead. Sadly, the beaver has gone AWOL at Oliver and it has turned into a stump swamp…
Anyway… old story I suppose.
I now like to go and chance my life along the trail from Rushbrooke to the Seaplane base- trees, mudslides and all. And even sit at the parking lot at Rushbrooke on the rocks- when there aren’t old fish carcasses lying around.
Do you have any nice places that aren’t too secretive to share?
You can take the ferry to port Simpson one day, bring a lunch and walk that newly built expensive trail, it’s got to be worth a look. But other than that, there are no new places, I like to park at the bottom of Diana lake road and walk up there and back, if you can afford the gas its nice. As far as I am concerned the PR Port Corp in conjunction with our City council are destroying this city, park by park, my home is only worth half of what I paid for it now, I feel like I worked for years for nothing and would have been better off staying on welfare and living in BC housing.
[quote=“Shoelaces”]Given the recent restrictions on many of the waterfront access sites in and around Prince Rupert, have you found somewhere new? Do you have a place to go to for a nice picnic, to skip rocks, to walk along the harbour?
The places I miss most are the Ridley Island beaches and the waterfront access from Fairview to Kwinitsa(?).
I always thought I had it bad growing up without the gondola up the mountain and scheduled ferry service to Salt Lakes Provincial Park- it turns out I had more to be thankful for than I knew.
In regards to Salt Lakes- I understand it to have been replaced by Oliver Lake- giving Oliver Lake Provincial Park status instead. Sadly, the beaver has gone AWOL at Oliver and it has turned into a stump swamp…
Anyway… old story I suppose.
I now like to go and chance my life along the trail from Rushbrooke to the Seaplane base- trees, mudslides and all. And even sit at the parking lot at Rushbrooke on the rocks- when there aren’t old fish carcasses lying around.
Do you have any nice places that aren’t too secretive to share?
Thanks and happy fall![/quote]
My heart goes out to you to both of you I got my drivers license very late in life and as yet do not own a car. I find for my mental health and general fitness I need to walk a great deal. I ended up taking a leave from job and moving to victoria in part to find and enjoy green space such as what you speak of. Of course there were other factors that lead to my departure, but quality of life in Rupert was low for me. Victoria has many vast areas along waterfronts/ beaches/ parks and many areas I have yet to explore. Unfortunately, it appears that sustainable employment won’t be available for me down here, so in the new year i will be back at some point. I will be buying a car so that I can drive out of town to find areas to walk. The Port Corporation, is turning Rupert into a economic hub, but it’s means to do anything as simple as a walk you have to drive out of town and that means the cash earned in town goes to Terrace as well. When I was a kid there was a lot more to see and do in Rupert than today…
There is an abundance of green space around Prince Rupert for its size. Yes the waterfront has been limited with the most recent port development, but we are a PORT city, it is what keeps this town alive and thriving. We are not a pristine retirement community.
Oh and shame on the port for trying to turn this city into an economic hub, truly shame on them
Lol people will complaint about everything in this town…never thought I would see someone complain about the city growing it’s economy, especially after the last decade and a half.
Oh and the money made in this town are not going straight to terrace… That is the biggest exaggeration I have ever heard…half the town can’t even drive to terrace and god forbid the other half visits terrace 10-15 times a year for shopping, that is hardly spending all their money on.
A bigger economy will mean more things to do and see, we went from and 17-18000 population to 12500, naturally services and things todo will go away, but that was after a massive economic collapse and yet you bitch that we are finally becoming an economic hub again? ridiculous!
[quote=“bthedog”]There is an abundance of green space around Prince Rupert for its size. Yes the waterfront has been limited with the most recent port development, but we are a PORT city, it is what keeps this town alive and thriving. We are not a pristine retirement community.
Oh and shame on the port for trying to turn this city into an economic hub, truly shame on them
Lol people will complaint about everything in this town…never thought I would see someone complain about the city growing it’s economy, especially after the last decade and a half.
Oh and the money made in this town are not going straight to terrace… That is the biggest exaggeration I have ever heard…half the town can’t even drive to terrace and god forbid the other half visits terrace 10-15 times a year for shopping, that is hardly spending all their money on.
A bigger economy will mean more things to do and see, we went from and 17-18000 population to 12500, naturally services and things todo will go away, but that was after a massive economic collapse and yet you bitch that we are finally becoming an economic hub again? ridiculous![/quote]
Glad it works for ya… economics is just one aspect of life… many people struggle even more so now than ever. Much of the work is contractors coming in, while rents and other costs sky rocket…
Most of my friends up there other than groceries spend a lot of there income out of town… I see the good side in this economic hub, but i cannot see where all this green space is that you speak of but whatever
So Rupert is an economic hub and what truly has that done for this town? We are faced with a $150 million dollar bill for new infrastructure, home owners in the west end are watching their home values decline, stores are still closing, rents are high when you can find a nice place to live at all and we have our green space “taken” from us. Yes, you can still walk Rushbrook, though it is a muddy mess, Kwinitza to Atlin is nice but the same scenery, different day, Seal Cove is pretty and surrounding areas, well, some people do not have vehicles and are not able to access those areas. Maybe one day Rupert will see the benefits of this "boom’ and yes, we complain, we have the right to do that. You live here, you settle for what there is and you make do and for some, that is not a pleasant reality. I mean, come on, we don’t even have a shoe store! Thank god for online shopping, Terrace and PG !!
I also like online shopping. Apple is wonderful, they have the best delivery system…period. But, I also like to support local companies. I am starting the process of renovating the exterior of my house; I have two local companies that will do the work in the Spring.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
What you are writing about is important. Prince Rupert has an Official Community Plan. Our political leaders need to pay attention to it, as do their advisors. For example, turning a park, whether Moose Tot into emergency space, or green space at Westview into housing would not have even arisen had the Official Community Plan been considered. The quality of life, the character of the community is at stake here. A symptom is nowhere to walk.
It seems City Council has lost its way. Go back to The Plan. People want a livable community with access to green space. And as conflicts are lost, like the ridiculous placement of the pellet plant, we need to keep telling them. Limited places to go without driving out of town? See The Plan.
There are a lot of people who just want to love Rupert. Governments fail us at every level, federal, provincial, civic, and our new one… the Port. How else do we live in the face of such negative dominance? Vote, this November and next November. And volunteer… somewhere. If a leader is doing a good job, tell them.
See you outside. When the parking lot is clear, I park at Rushbrooke floats to watch the seals or sunsets.
“The OCP will help the community avoid disadvantages associated with undirected growth and uncontrolled development, ranging from landuse conflicts to undesirable developments.” from “A Background Report for the Prince Rupert Official Community Plan”.
The fact of the matter is, There is just not alot of place to go to access the ocean, anywhere on the northcoast.
On the other hand, there is alot of beach access and a very nicely groomed trail over in Metlakatla.
I may be wrong about this as I don’t really know the history as I did not live here in the 60’s. So feel free to correct me if I have erred.
For many, many years we were able to avail ourselves of the the huge area on the waterfront. I believe that the reason why we were able to do so was threefold:
a) Most of the structures that were on these properties were either burnt to the ground or subsequently dismantled after the large fire that occurred on the waterfront. I believe the fire was in the late 60’s or early 70’s.
b) Subsequent to the fire, CN let us access their property by not enforcing their property rights
c) Subsequent to the fire, the Port Authority let us access their property when they did not enforce their property rights.
In summary, I believe that, prior to the fire and the dismantling of structures, there was nothing to see along the waterfront but canneries and other buildings associated the waterfront industries.
[quote=“Pantagruel”]I may be wrong about this as I don’t really know the history as I did not live here in the 60’s. So feel free to correct me if I have erred.
For many, many years we were able to avail ourselves of the the huge area on the waterfront. I believe that the reason why we were able to do so was threefold:
a) Most of the structures that were on these properties were either burnt to the ground or subsequently dismantled after the large fire that occurred on the waterfront. I believe the fire was in the late 60’s or early 70’s.
b) Subsequent to the fire, CN let us access their property by not enforcing their property rights
c) Subsequent to the fire, the Port Authority let us access their property when they did not enforce their property rights.
In summary, I believe that, prior to the fire and the dismantling of structures, there was nothing to see along the waterfront but canneries and other buildings associated the waterfront industries.
c[/quote]
Cant thank you enough for refreshing my memory … I also recall that with the grain elevator being on the waterfront rail traffic was quite busy so walking down towards BC Ferries while done was very unsafe… so all we have is history repeating it’s self…
[quote=“Pantagruel”]I may be wrong about this as I don’t really know the history as I did not live here in the 60’s. So feel free to correct me if I have erred.
For many, many years we were able to avail ourselves of the the huge area on the waterfront. I believe that the reason why we were able to do so was threefold:
a) Most of the structures that were on these properties were either burnt to the ground or subsequently dismantled after the large fire that occurred on the waterfront. I believe the fire was in the late 60’s or early 70’s.
b) Subsequent to the fire, CN let us access their property by not enforcing their property rights
c) Subsequent to the fire, the Port Authority let us access their property when they did not enforce their property rights.
In summary, I believe that, prior to the fire and the dismantling of structures, there was nothing to see along the waterfront but canneries and other buildings associated the waterfront industries.
c[/quote]
Cant thank you enough for refreshing my memory … I also recall that with the grain elevator being on the waterfront rail traffic was quite busy so walking down towards BC Ferries while done was very unsafe… so all we have is history repeating it’s self…[/quote]
Ay least you were able to walk that route, albeit at your own risk. Not anymore, the CN wannabe cops rule and they are watching you! It is sad to live on an island and have no access to the ocean from town. Those without cars have a right to complain, those with, not so much as there are plenty of beautiful areas down the highway. The Metlakatla Trail is beautiful but families with children probably would not be able to afford to get over there and to walk it also, that has to be a consideration.
That isn’t ocean PLA, it’s a mirage! A figment of your imagination.
There are plenty of docks that allow public access, that’s water, go for a dock walk.
And as for walking those areas at our own risk, seatbelts and helmets weren’t worn back then and drunk driving wasn’t really even frowned upon that much, does that mean we should throw caution to the wind now because “it was okay before”?
