Provincial park gate frustrates Cape Ray residents
Three hundred residents of the local service district (LSD) of Cape Ray are opposed to having a gate erected at the entrance to J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park, located on the Trans-canada Highway (TCH) not far from Port aux Basques.
According to residents, the proposed gate would generate problems on several fronts.
An access road called Park Road in Cape Ray is the community’s only secondary exit should the LSD ever need to activate its emergency evacuation plan. The unpaved Park Road enters the provincial park directly from the community, and was used by the Department of Transportation and Works in the past when an oil spill on the TCH diverted highway traffic.
“The road was there before I was born,” said 85-year-old Ross Patey, who owns a cabin on land adjacent to the park — land where he was born and his family used to live year-round.
The main road running through the park, the Park Road access route, the land on which Patey’s cabin sits, and the land belonging to other nearby cabin owners all predate the provincial park and even Confederation.
The railroad originally bought some land from families in the area to punch through for the trains — that land is now also a provincial park as part of the Newfoundland T’railways.
Instead of detouring unnecessarily onto the TCH, during the summer cabin owners tend to enter Cheeseman’s via Park Road and turn onto the T’railway just before the beach to get to their cabins or visit the cemetery.
In the winter, that’s impossible, and even before the snow comes it’s pretty rough going.
Cape Ray’s LSD has tried to fix Park Road, but was prevented
from grading once they reached the park boundary.
“This past summer we, as a local service district, were going to fix the access road (to accommodate cabin owners),” said Anne Osmond, a LSD board member who has been in contact with park officials.
“They said no. It’s denied. We had to stop our construction.”
The LSD was also prohibited from trimming shrubs and rough brush overgrowing the road, even though park personnel are clearing the same overgrowth along the primary road.
“Everything we’ve tried to do in the past, there’s been barriers put up,” said a frustrated Osmond. “The last time the road was done was 2007.”
Cut off
If the park erects a gate at the TCH entrance and with the
Park Road impassible, access to cabins on the far side of the park would be cut off.
That poses another problem. Some residents, like 94-year-old Ida Gibb of Toronto, aren’t just here for tourist season, but stay long into winter, typically over the Christmas holiday and even into the New Year.
Without road access an emergency vehicle would not be able to reach her should an emergency arise.
“I don’t know what problem they’re trying to solve,” her son, David, said about the proposed gate.
He says the roads and land are in good hands, and the park needn’t worry about the potential for vandalism.
“It’s just such a wonderful group. Everyone works together to take care of the place. Now to hear that we may be barred and restricted from getting to our homes — it’s just remarkably upsetting.”
Lobbying government
Residents have turned to MHA Andrew Parsons for help, and he has been lobbying the Department of Tourism, Industry, Innovation and Culture on their behalf.
“I only became aware of this issue a couple of weeks ago,” Parsons said during a phone interview. “I understand the gate is or has been installed, but my understanding is that it will not be closed.
“It is apparently the only ungated park in the province.”
Parsons is waiting for a reason why the department felt it necessary to install a gate at J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park.
“There (must) have been a reason and I haven’t had that
explained to me yet,” he said. “The main thing people need to know is that the gate is not going to be closed any time soon, so access is not going to be restricted in any way.”
Eric Humber, media relations manager for the Department of Tourism, Industry, Innovation and Culture, replied to inquiries from the Gulf News via email.
“Consistent with other provincial parks, a gate at the entry of JT Cheeseman Provincial Park is being installed, however the gate will remain open,” Humber wrote.
He also confirmed the department will work with Cape Ray residents to review their emergency evacuation plan and ensure access to emergency services is not compromised.