$100,000 Woodside Road repairs required....

[Martin]

Should have posted a million but I figured a $100,000 might attract some attention?

Well the Club decided at the AGM to send money to Vancouver Island (always nice to give to the needy.....) I would like to point out we are a verge of loosing road access to our primary site. Yes, Its just good old "grumpy Comrade Martin" setting my hair on fire to dig up some response from the club and its members but in truth, we could very well see the road fail this winter in a rather serious way.

The road issues....

Obviously there has been a mass increase in traffic on poor old Woodside. For years the base grade on this road has dealt with everything we have thrown at it. We have to thank all the forestry activity for keeping it that way.

This year we are seeing a change. We have several cross ditches that are aggressive enough that our 4x4 friends are making them worse. On my last trip up I noticed we also have multiple water channels that are no longer being kept off the road. WE are at risk of seeing one major weather event that could destroy the road (in multiple locations). 2021 "could" see Woodside become a hike and fly only (or you will need to book rides with FlyBC for the Quad ride up!).

The Club does not have pockets deep enough to maintain this road. The Club is no longer the primary user of this road. I'm certain the district of Kent and Forestry do not want to see money budgeted to maintain/repair the road. The only way forward that I can see is the club needs to take the initiative to coordinate all the parties and begin the process of shared funding. I think the first step is to establish jurisdictions and put this issue on the radar of the various levels of government that administer the road and access.

Martin Henry

[Suntan]

The logging company plowed the road and did not maintain it resulting in the loss of dirt leaving only rock. There should be some pressure for them to fix it. Also wondering how much money did we send to the VIS for Port Alberni site? Do people know that it's only open on Weekends?

[James604]

I think we'll have some good news soon for Woodside FSR. I've been coordinating with the permitted maintainer - hopefully we'll have a grader on it at the very least this spring.

BTW, the club voted overwhelmingly (>90%) in favour of funding the Port Alberni Launch site, and we'll keep advocating for increased useage. The initial access agreement is a foot in the door. Further BTW, Island based WCSC pilot membership fees cover the annual cost and way more for PA. Even further BTW, Woodside road maintenance isn't a money issue. It's about navigating maintenance permits and rights with logging companies, which is challenging at best.

[Suntan]

I didn't realize that we had that many island members.
Excellent!