Foreshore access focus of walk later this month

When Al Janusas and his wife moved to Kelowna 2 1/2 years ago, they were appalled to see much of the public foreshore along Okanagan Lake blocked by private docks and fences.

“We moved here in large part because of this fantastic lake and many of the other great things Kelowna has going for it, and we were shocked when we found that so many people were disregarding the laws with respect to the public foreshore access,” said Janusas. “Between the bridge and Mission Creek, there are substantial parts of that stretch of beach where it’s very difficult or impossible to walk along the foreshore, which is supposed to be public according to the provincial government.”

Obstacles include private docks that don’t have the required steps on either side and fences that go into the water, blocking the way of pedestrians, said Janusas.

Janusas and a group of Kelowna residents are hosting a walk along Okanagan Lake to raise awareness about the lack of public access to the foreshore.

The walk, which will start at City Park near the entrance to the tunnel under the bridge and go down to Rotary Beach, is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27.

Sections of the foreshore that cannot be walked will be bypassed, either by using volunteers’ boats or by walking up to the street and back down to the shore at the next access point.

Janusas is hoping the provincial government will step up its enforcement of private docks along the public foreshore, especially after so many of them were destroyed during flooding early this summer and will need to be rebuilt.

“There has been virtually no enforcement by the provincial government along the foreshore,” he said. “We are unfairly, and in some cases illegally, prevented from accessing the foreshore. What we hope to do is to move it up on the list of priorities for both the city and the province.”

For more information, go online to facebook.com/walkthebeachkelowna.