Community

Town hopes to diffuse bikers versus boaters spat in the parking lot

In a bid to break the tension between ATV users and recreational boaters who compete for parking space at a staging area in Seal Cove, the Town of CBS is hiring the Grand Concourse Authority to make changes that it hopes will bring some order to the situation.

The Authority, which is the same group that maintains Conception Bay South’s T’Railway Park, will be paid some $6,614 to “formalize” the parking area.

“We’ve agreed that we’ll go out and put in a parking lot plan,” said councillor-at-large Kirk Youden.

“I just have a question,” said Deputy Mayor Richard Murphy, who chaired Tuesday’s meeting. “I know there were some issues with respect to the recreation boaters and the ATV users, so what it is we’re doing up there?”

Jennifer Lake, the Town’s director of economic development, said part of the reason for the issues between the groups is the signage in the ATV staging area was not established in a way that allowed the Town to enforce the parking rules there. “This will allow us to monitor, from an enforcement perspective, any parking that impedes other users,” she noted.

“I think this is a good problem,” said Youden. “This is one of those recreation areas that is heavily used and when the food fishery is on it creates some challenges and not everybody exhibits the most courteous parking arrangements. So, this will kind of provide a framework for people to follow and our enforcement officers to enforce. Hopefully it can alleviate some of the congestion and blocking and prevent a few user conflicts, so to speak.”

Councillor Rex Hillier, who seconded the motion to hire the Grand Concourse Authority, couldn’t help questioning the move nonetheless. “So, really what we’re saying is we’re spending $6,600 because boat owners can’t get along with the ATV users?” he said.

“I’m certainly not saying that councillor Hillier,” said Murphy. “But I do know there have been some issues there especially when the food fishery was on the go, because boaters go up with their boats on their trailers and they launch their boats and the trailers are long and they’re (left) in the way. But it looks like we’ve got it resolved, or we’re on the road to a resolution.”

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