Charlotte Reid presented a petition to Parksville council on behalf of 130 residents of the Sunray Road area, encouraging the construction of stairs to access the beach.
It was good timing, pointed out director of engineering and operations Robert Harary, as council works on their 2011 budget, which currently includes $100,000 for the project.
She said they wanted to show council there is, “overwhelming support for beach access,” in the Temple and Wright road area in the northwest corner of the city and they have enthusiasm for improving the area with people talking about block parties and raising money themselves for things like benches and a small park.
Harary confirmed the budgeted amount should cover construction of stairs, which are only in the early design stage, but it probably won’t be enough for other amenities.
They have done the topographical survey but have many steps to go including Ministry of Environment approval for what will be five or six flights down the steep bank and may be similar to the stairs at the end of Doehle Avenue.
He said the earliest they might start construction would be this fall, and warned that might be optimistic.
Reid said the local residents are eager to be involved and have already done things like cleaning and they would like to help make it a beautiful area.