I attended a public consultation last Thursday in Calgary re: the proposed bike path in Jasper National Park.
Apparently this idea has been in the works since 2009 and, according to a glossy pamphlet, “the concept for the project is also part of the management plans for both Jasper National Park (2010) and Banff National Park (2010), which involved extensive public consultation” – my emphasis.
Although the audience was assured that this was only in the consultation process, that no decision has yet been reached, the amount of work and detail already accomplished would lead one to believe otherwise.
Rather than bulldozing through grizzly and caribou habitat, why couldn’t Parks simply ensure that the shoulder is maintained for cyclists? With the amount of trails that are a) open for hikers and cyclists in JNP and b) the number of trails that need attention, I do not understand the rationale behind spending this vast amount of money on this project.
With the number of animals killed last year due to the ignorance of visitors, education should be a top priority, not encouraging more people to enter wildlife habitat and potentially cause suffering to the already burdened and harassed wildlife.
While Parks Canada continues to state that it “maintains or restores ecological integrity,” nothing is further from the truth when developments continue to be rubber stamped and commercialization runs rampant in the parks that belong to all Canadians.
The following is part of my letter to Minister McKenna:
Although public consultations are occurring in various places and a person is able to send feedback on the Parks Canada site, I am wondering why when a decision has (probably) already been made, this preposterous idea will come to fruition? In the past, even when thousands of voices have objected to certain proposals, these voices have been totally ignored to the detriment of wildlife and the protection of the parks.
As one comment reads – “This bike path screams of wildlife encounters of the ‘worst kind.’” If I’m not mistaken there are lots of animals along this stretch of road which seems to suggest that we’d be feeding wildlife or creating a potential problem for two and four legged varieties.”
My husband and I contributed to the Let’s Talk Parks, Canada project and voiced our concerns about the proposed bike path at that time.
If indeed your mandate is to protect what little wildness remains for the wildlife to exist without human interference in our national parks, then I implore you to reverse this proposal. You comment that the national parks belong to all Canadians; however, developments continue to appeal to (generally) only those who can afford to participate.
And what consideration has been given to the extra infrastructure that will be needed to access the path at various points, plans for emergencies/rescues, and the cost to the taxpayers of keeping the path safe in all seasons, to name but a few issues?
One extra point. I do not agree with the decision to provide free Parks passes – the public needs to respect these treasures and should be paying toward maintaining them. My husband and I wrote to you in January 2017 expressing our concerns about the effect the influx of visitors will have on wildlife, to which we have not yet received a response.
While I am not hopeful for a positive response re: the bike path, I await some communication from your office.
In closing, I urge all who are opposed to this project to voice concerns.
Carol Tracey,
Calgary
