Earlier this month I wrote about the Fraser River Trail which is one of the approved greenway routes delineated in the City of Vancouver’s Council approved plan in 1995. Just as the Seaside Greenway follows along the water in the downtown and on Point Grey Road, it was always planned that the Fraser River Trail would hug the City’s southern boundary along that working river.
Douglas Todd with the Vancouver Sun has followed up on his original post about the fact that while both McCleery Public Golf Course and Point Grey Golf Club have provided the public the right of access along the river, Marine Drive Golf Club is the missing link. That golf club has flatly said no, and installed fencing and threatening signs to anyone that dare traverse the pathway along the water’s edge.
Here’s the sadness of this lack of shared civic responsibility~the Marine Drive Golf Club is the only roadblock to the completion of a 21 kilometer “Vancouver circle route that would go along the Fraser River Trail, through Pacific Spirit Park, traverse Spanish Banks and the beachfront of English Bay and extend the length of the Arbutus Greenway.”
Both former Federal Cabinet Minister Ujjal Dosanjh (who lives beside the Marine Drive Golf Course) and Former Premier and Mayor of Vancouver Mike Harcourt are adamant that this connection be completed. As Mr. Dosanjh bluntly stated “What’s wrong with the city? Why haven’t they done anything? It’s time for action.”
Of course there are other factors, and that includes a needed public outcry that this finally be completed for Vancouver citizens.
There is also need for municipal political will to do the right thing, requiring strong lobbying of a majority of Council to get this trail completed. Current City Council and the Mayor must be persuaded that following city policy established for decades to complete this trail is clearly in the public interest, and has significant positive impacts for residents.
There are several strategies that could be enacted to secure this walkway very quickly. All that is needed is pressure on the City to do the right thing, for today’s citizens and residents of tomorrow.
And surprise! There is already is a trail along the Fraser River in front of the Marine Drive Golf Course.
You can see the exclusive riverfront walkway in the Golf Club’s own YouTube video below which documents their 105 acre site.
Image: Golfadvisor.com
