Residents of Creekside Townhomes in Pemberton say they are tired of risking their lives every time they walk to the village.
Scott Schober, strata agent for the Creekside complex, and resident Melissa Henderson, wrote separate letters to council, asking that the creation of a legal and safe pathway from their complex to the village be a high priority.
Henderson says their 54-unit building is now home to a number of young families, many of whom have small children, and it is too dangerous to push strollers and walk with children along the narrow shoulder of the highway, where the posted speed limit is 60 kilometres per hour.
Because of this, many people use the train bridge to cross over to the village.
But as Henderson points out in her letter, the train bridge is not a safe alternative to walking along the side of the highway.
“…The other week I witnessed a man from our complex jumping from the same train bridge to avoid the train hitting him and his two dogs,” Henderson said in her letter to council.
At Tuesday evening’s meeting Pemberton councillors acknowledged there was a safety concern, but said they simply didn’t have the funding to deal with the problem.
Mayor Jordan Sturdy said it would cost well over $100,000 to build a bridge from the complex over the highway, which is “not an insignificant cost.”
Council opted to ensure a safe pedestrian link would be included in any further development of the land. They also plan to approach the Ministry of Transportation to see if the rail bridge could be expanded to include a pedestrian walkway, and if signs could be posted on the highway as a more immediate safety measure.
