Dismantling of parks isn't going to stop
March 16, 2004. Parksville Qualicum News

The article, "Parking fees driving park goers into Parksville" missed one very important cost to the park system, since the implementation of parking meters in many of our provincial parks.

Vandalism to the parking meters and their repair costs has torn a large hole into the touted $600,000 income from them.

How much?

I don't have exact figures, but I have been told by one park ranger that the experiment is not generating the expected revenue and is not working.

The government's attempts at trying to wring every nickel out of our public parks is an abysmal failure and is just another example of the "new error" these rookies are imposing on our park system and the public in general.

Our public parks pay for themselves many times over, in the taxes and economic spin offs generated from the visitors they draw.

Our public parks are our "golden goose" as far as the long term economic benefits they provide to our province.

We have a fiduciary duty to our future generations to keep our parks in as original state as the previous generations left them to us.

Yet the attitude the government has taken towards our parks is more akin to wringing the goose's neck.

The first year the Liberals were in power they slashed the meager budget to BC Parks in half.

The next year they slashed that half in half.

Their third year is to be the same again, ad infinitum.

It appears that the dismantling of our parks will not stop until the current government changes its ways or is routed out of office ... which will it be?

Peter Rothermel
Qualicum Beach