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WEDNESDAY, April 18, 2018
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Signs (and fines?) in Peterson Creek MICHAEL POTESTIO STAFF REPORTER michael@kamloopsthisweek.com
City of Kamloops staff hope three new warning signs erected in Peterson Creek Park will help keep people off the rock face east of the waterfalls. If the additional signage does not dissuade climbers, the city may consider using an actual ticket to keep people on the ground. “We do have the ability to fine people through the parks regulation bylaw,” said the city’s parks manager, Jeff Putnam, adding he plans to meet with community and protective services director Byron McCorkell by the end of April to come up with a plan. “There’s some advantages and disadvantages of fines, so we have to be careful, and if that’s a tool that we want to use, we have to discuss it thoroughly,” Putnam said. The bylaw he is referring to states it is “unlawful for any person or persons to do any activity in a park or public lands where posted signs indicate that such activity is prohibited or unlawful.” Putnam said the fine can range from $100 to $10,000. “Obviously, it wouldn’t be $10,000, but you have to create a balance. If it’s too high, people are probably going to be afraid to call for help and they might put themselves in more danger,” Putnam said. Enforcing the fine would potentially involve having a bylaw officer attend the
City of Kamloops staff have erected this and other signs near the waterfalls in Peterson Creek Park, where firefighters have had to make four rescues in recent weeks after park visitors became stuck while climbing.
scene of a rescue in order to issue a ticket in the act, he said. The additional signage was city staff’s response to a rapid succession of rope rescues required of Kamloops Fire Rescue along the rock face east of the waterfall in the park the past few weeks. On March 24, a hiker got stuck in the area. Four days later, another rescue was required in the same location. Firefighters were called out again to rescue two hikers on April 2, while another pair was rescued on April 8. The number of incidents was described as unprecedented by KFR platoon Capt. Rob Chalmers, who told KTW he cannot recall responding to as many rope rescues in such a short amount of time in his 28 years with the department. No new rope rescues have occurred in the park since the new signage went up last week.
A large sign warning people to not enter the area near the rock face and listing potential hazards was erected, as were two smaller warning signs closer to the rock face itself. The city may also move some of the older signage to other areas of the park to make it more visible to visitors. McCorkell said some of the rescues have been conducted on private property in the park, which would complicate handing out fines. “There is a portion of Peterson Creek on the east side that becomes private land in and around the highway overpass and down that side, so depending on where the individual might end up, they may or may not be on the park piece,” McCorkell said. He said there are a number of issues to work through and the situation isn’t as simple as issuing a ticket. “There’s litigation issues around how we would be able to process a bylaw and what would be the fee,” McCorkell said. Putnam said the city may seek legal opinion regarding how it can enforce the bylaw if people need to rescued from private property. While the new signage isn’t seen as the definitive solution to this issue, McCorkell said its intent is to ensure people know full well where they should and shouldn’t be when hiking in the park, which can be accessed from downtown and from entry points in Sahali.
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Deans Lecture Series Re-examine some of Charles Darwin’s conclusions in light of contemporary scientific thinking about geology, ecology and evolutionary biology with Tom Dickinson, dean of the faculty of science. 12:05–12:55 pm, Kamloops Library (downtown)
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