Named for our late MLA, Fred Gingell Park not only honours a great member of our community but also acts as a reminder of battles waged by the public that were both won and lost.
The letter in last Friday's issue from Bob and Donna Bracken, which marked the 10th anniversary of the opening of the stairs to Tsawwassen Beach, got me thinking about the relatively short, but significant history of the park on English Bluff Road.
First and foremost, the picturesque piece of real estate overlooking the Strait of Georgia recognizes the contributions the former school board chair and Liberal MLA made to ensure this community became a better place to live. Gingell was a true gentleman and regardless of political stripe, locals were lucky to be represented by a man of such integrity.
However, whenever I think of the park that bears his name, I can't help but also harken back to a pair of well-documented public struggles.
The stairs are a testament to the hard work of the Brackens and many others who fought a principled but often uphill battle to gain access to the beach below. Why the western edge of Tsawwassen was allowed to develop without providing pathways to a public amenity is a bit of a mystery, but righting that wrong was a lot more difficult than it should have been.
Unwilling to take no for an answer, beach access advocates finally convinced civic officials to rectify the situation, creating Tsawwassen's own version of the Grouse Grind in the process. The park not only offers a spectacular lookout point, but the ability to descend the stairs to amble along the shoreline has provided untold enjoyment for thousands over the last decade. While that's definitely a success story, and will continue to be a wellutilized amenity in the years to come, the park also acts as a reminder of a battle that ultimately didn't go in the public's favour. You see, Fred Gingell Park is where the higher voltage power lines leave land en route to Vancouver Island.
An epic struggle to prevent the B.C. Transmission Corporation from increasing the voltage of the lines that cut a swath through Tsawwassen didn't turn out as hoped, despite reasonable alternatives in terms of routes and shielding being put forth by the public. The unwelcome decision ultimately prompted many to sell the homes they had occupied for years.
The towers that dot the right-of-way have left a permanent scar, one that stretches all the way to the waterfront park.
