Docks destroyed when Okanagan Lake rose to unprecedented levels this spring are starting to be rebuilt and there are some changes already taking root.
Al Janusas, one of the people involved in organizing the Walk the Beach event being held this Sunday in Kelowna, said he乌鸦传媒檚 already seen two dock rebuilds fit with pedestrian-friendly stairs乌鸦传媒攁 shift in construction he乌鸦传媒檚 pleased to observe.
乌鸦传媒淲e said to one woman who was rebuilding her dock with stairs, 乌鸦传媒榯his is refreshing to see,乌鸦传媒澪谘淮綑 he said.
乌鸦传媒淪he shrugged and said, 乌鸦传媒榳ell, it乌鸦传媒檚 required.乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮綕
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Janusas said he hopes more people become aware of those requirements around docks because walking the lakeshore is something every Kelowna resident should be able to do.
Janusas and walk organizer Brenda Bachmann have been outspoken on the issue of illegal docks and unimpeded access to the foreshore of Okanagan Lake in Kelowna in the wake of the destruction from the floods.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 just a horrible thing that people with lakefront property have had to deal with and I am 100 per cent behind them trying to rebuild their docks,乌鸦传媒� said Bachmann to the Capital News earlier in the summer.
乌鸦传媒淎ll I am saying is why not rebuild it so that it乌鸦传媒檚 legal, and save you the time of having to reconstruct it again? I am not trying to create a new law here. I didn乌鸦传媒檛 make the laws that are in place. I am not asking for any laws to be changed.乌鸦传媒�
Janusas said he thinks it乌鸦传媒檚 due to a lack of policing.
乌鸦传媒淵ou乌鸦传媒檇 never know they乌鸦传媒檙e required because the province has done so little to enforce the rules,乌鸦传媒� said Janusas.
乌鸦传媒淲hen you put docks on the lake, you can乌鸦传媒檛 impede the walkway.乌鸦传媒�
The provincial government, he said, doesn乌鸦传媒檛 have the required number of staff to keep people compliant with the rules, and that乌鸦传媒檚 why there乌鸦传媒檚 been a proliferation of illegal docks in the last two decades.
Dock contractors in Kelowna are currently fully booked and there乌鸦传媒檚 a lot of construction underway. Having this walk before everything is complete may help ensure there are more people compliant with provincial laws, he said.
The Sunday walk from City Park to Rotary Beach is organized by PLANKelowna and Walk the Beach Kelowna, gets underway at 1 p.m.
It乌鸦传媒檚 expected to attract 100 people.
