More than 500 people submitted ideas to improve safety and access at Cathedral Grove in MacMillan Provincial Park during consultations that began in fall 2018.

After analyzing the strengths and challenges of each idea, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is presenting the most feasible suggestions for further public discussion.

Ideas open for discussion vary from short-term safety improvements like improved signage, traffic calming and enforcement, to more medium- to long-term measures, including pedestrian overpass ideas, various existing parking area improvements, additional parking capacity and bypass options.

The public is invited to the following open houses to review and evaluate these preliminary ideas, which are intended to improve safety and access while protecting the integrity of the park:

June 19, 2019
4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Parksville Community and Conference Centre
132 Jensen Ave E.

June 20, 2019
4 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Port Alberni Friendship Centre
3555 4th Ave.

Information presented at the open houses will also be available online beginning June 19. The input gathered will be used to refine and evaluate safety improvement options and will help identify those which the ministry should investigate in further detail.

Each year, roughly 500,000 visitors from around the world come to experience the old-growth giant Douglas firs and unparalleled beauty of Cathedral Grove. Most visitors arrive by vehicle, parking along Highway 4 and crossing the highway to visit both sides of the park.

The Cathedral Grove Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Study is designed to work collectively with park visitors, Indigenous communities, law enforcement and governing partners to find solutions to ongoing safety and traffic concerns surrounding parking and pedestrian movements along Highway 4.

Learn More:

Cathedral Grove public consultation: https://engage.gov.bc.ca/cathedralgrove/