Editor:
(On Saturday) morning, I headed out for a walk along the Burnaby Mountain urban trail off Eastlake Drive.
For the first time in the 40 years I’ve used this trail, I found it blocked off with a security guard posted at the gate.
For the next three Saturdays, access to the trail that connects with the Central Valley Greenway will be denied to cyclists, dog-walkers and people trying to get some outdoor exercise during these COVID times.
The trail is isn’t closed for upgrades or safety reasons. Quite the opposite.
Trans Mountain is doing “geotechnical work” in preparation of expanding its pipeline through this area.
Stoney Creek runs alongside this trail. This fall, large numbers of salmon swam through Stoney Creek to the Brunette River.
Many years ago, my children put fry in this creek for the Great Salmon Send-Off, an annual event at Stoney Creek Elementary School. This past year, I took my grandkids to see the salmon returning.
I wonder what the children will see in the future. A creek filled with pipes instead of fish? A diluted bitumen spill?
The federal government tells us this is in “the national interest.” I fail to see how denying the public access to a Greenway for a project that threatens salmon and other wildlife is in anyone’s interest, other than the fossil fuel corporation that has no interest in the well-being of our community or our planet.
Roslyn Hart, Burnaby
