Editor:
I have lived at my residence in Delta for over 30 years and have always been dismayed at the lack of public access to the Tsawwassen Beach off of English Bluff. When we go down to Boundary Bay there are many friendly opportunities to access a beach walk. When I walk down English Bluff I am confronted with No Trespassing, Stop, Private Road, gates one needs a code to open etc. The people who live off of these private roads which were constructed ages ago feel entitled to turn people away. Yes they have many excuses why being on their private road is illegal, unsafe and prohibited. But can council not see that a mistake that was made in the past can be rectified by creating some public accesses that would be available to everyone.
Now that Fred Gingell stairs have been closed for months there is not even that way to access the beach. This brings to mind how the people on Tsawwassen Beach fought tooth and nail for years to avoid the building of the Fred Gingell stairs. Property values were going to plummet, wild overnight parties would ensue, people would be treating the beach as a dump...it went on and on.
And due to the huge commitment of a few individuals the stairs were finally constructed. . Now hundreds of people who cannot afford to live on the beach can enjoy what should be available to all of Tsawwassen and Delta.
I am pleading with council to take another look at this issue which has been ignored for decades. It is to be expected that there will be major protests from the people who now have the beach more or less to themselves. This is to be expected. Please create two or three public beach accesses off of English Bluff so that we, the public, may enjoy access to a basic Canadian right to enjoy our beaches too.
Respectfully,
Joan Lang
