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LETTER: Gill Bar is like a scene out of Mad Max

‘Something needs to be done to protect the sensitive ecosystem’
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Lesley Smith took this photo at Gill Bar on the Fraser River in Chilliwack on a Sunday in 2022. (Lesley Smith photo)

Re: “Time to shut down access to the Fraser River at Gill Road bar, say stewards” www.theprogress.com, May 19, 2022.

I want to share my experience at the Gill Road bar. I live in Gibsons and came there for my grandson’s fifth birthday. It was a Sunday afternoon and I could not believe what I was seeing and hearing.

Trucks, ATVs, motor bikes, powerboats, music, yelling and smoke.

I felt like I was in a scene of the apocalypse or the movie Mad Max.

I wandered around feeling perplexed and saddened. I took pictures and videos to try and capture what I was experiencing. It was sensory overload. I was told this is nothing compared to a Saturday night.

I agree that something needs to be done to protect the sensitive ecosystem. I’m not sure why nothing is being done.

I understand people want to get out and have fun, but is this the new reality of fun? This is these young, and not so young people’s world. It’s their future. I left feeling puzzled and overwhelmed.

It was an experience that stayed with me for days after. Reading this article brought it all back.

Lesley Smith

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