I wanted to provide some clarification to the letter to the editor dated on Friday, June 2, 2017: Parking fees putting Cultus Lake out of reach.
As the Chair of Cultus Lake Park Board, I want to say that I am glad that the writer enjoys family time in Cultus Lake. I appreciate the acknowledgment of the new playground. We have had positive response to that from both parents and children alike.
I welcome and encourage feedback from our community, and I can understand that the writer is concerned about the increase in parking costs. I would like to explain why this has happened.
Cultus Lake Park is self-sustaining – we are responsible for the care of our incredible beaches, for cleaning and maintaining the public washrooms, and for ensuring that the parking lots are well-kept and repaired, when needed. This amount of upkeep costs a great deal of money. Cultus Lake Park does not receive funding from any other level of government. The financial and operational responsibility for our public beaches, the washrooms, 640 acres of parkland and the parking lots falls solely on the Park.
Both residents and visitors enjoy our beaches at no charge. Charging for parking is one of the areas where we can generate the revenue needed to maintain the beaches and surrounding area. We work hard to keep our community accessible to everyone. It is unfortunate that the visitor feels that the parking is too expensive to use on a regular basis. When parking costs are broken down for the day, it works out to $2 per hour for your family to enjoy the lake, the trails, the beach and all that the park has to offer, in a safe and clean environment. In fact, in comparison to many other beachfront communities, our parking rates are considered quite reasonable.
I encourage members of our community to provide feedback such as this to us. We would love to hear more about what the community likes and doesn’t like. It helps all of us at the Park Board to do a better job.
David Renwick
Chair,
Cultus Lake Park Board