The closure of a steep pathway adjacent to seniors’ housing in Black Diamond’s south end is permanent. Westwinds Communities permanently closed the cement path that extends from Glen Mead Park to 6th Ave. SW on Oct. 8 and is working to find grant money to build another on the property. The pathway, which closed for the winter several years in the past, will be removed and the land reseeded in the spring. “It probably won’t be in that location,” said Lauren Ingalls, Westwinds Communities chief administrative officer, of the proposed new pathway. “We’re considering between the hospital and Glen Mead Tree further south into the Riverwood community. It would be a longer walk but it would be safer and it would control dogs on the site, which is an issue.” Westwinds Communities, a non-profit organization that provides housing and supportive services to seniors, manages Glen Mead Park on behalf of the Provincial Ministry of Seniors and Housing. Ingalls said the pathway was used by Westwinds residents, tenants, employees and the general public as a shortcut to Black Diamond’s business district, for sledding on the hill and for walking dogs. What led to the closure of the pathway was concerns for public safety, said Ingalls, who added two people fell on the path and were injured last winter. Ingalls said it was built in the 1970s and is unsafe according to today’s standards. It’s too steep and narrow for wheelchair accessibility, she said. “We would love the new pathway to be wheelchair accessible, which would not be an option in the existing location,” she said. “Even with switchbacks it would still be too steep.” Ingalls said clearing the pathway of snow is a challenge as snow removal equipment owned by both the Town and Westwinds is too wide. Another concern is the area is used as an off-leash dog park, she said. “Right now they come up the pathway and walk around our property and let their dogs relieve themselves all over the place,” she said. “If you have a pathway that’s delineated with some sort of post and tension cable it tells them to stay on the pathways.” The public was invited to provide input on the future of the pathway at a meeting Oct. 5 in the High Country Lodge. Approximately one dozen seniors attended in response to a notice served by Westwinds Communities in September that informed Glen Mead Park and High Country Lodge staff and residents that the pathway will close due to its poor repair and unsafe nature. Many in attendance questioned the need for closing the pathway before it’s replaced, saying it’s well used by residents and the public. Of those in attendance, about a quarter said they use it daily and about three quarters said they would use it more if it had a gradual slope, wider surface and switchbacks, said Ingalls. “We thought there would be a lot more feedback than what we actually got,” she said. Westwinds will share a report containing a summary and comments made at the meeting with residents in early December, Ingalls said. In the meantime, Westwinds will apply for the Community Facility Enhancement Community grant before it’s Jan. 1 deadline in hopes to pursue building a new pathway, she said. “We aren’t going to embark on a capital campaign,” she said. “We don’t have the manpower.” Ingalls said Westwinds met with the Town’s public works department almost four years ago to discuss plans to upgrade the pathway collaboratively. After pricing the project out at about $80,000 in 2015, which would include two switchbacks and a new railing, Ingalls said Westwinds requested capital funding from the Province to pay a portion of the upgrade, but it was rejected. It was rejected again for this and next year’s capital budgets, she said. “We’ve already asked the Province for permission to work with the Town on a partnership to redevelop the pathway,” she said. “We’re applying for funding for our potion of our land. I don’t know what the Town will do for the piece that will connect from the top of the hill to the bottom of the hill.” Sharlene Brown, Black Diamond chief administrative officer, said the Town’s portion of the pathway would need to be accepted in the 2019 budget. She said Town employees have fallen on the pathway before it was closed while trying to maintain it. “Depending on collaboration between us and Westwinds we’ll be setting a plan for the future,” she said. “It’s important to community. Both Westwinds and the Town understand that people utilize walking paths for various different reasons whether it’s a commute to work or exercise or for their dogs. We’re committed to partnering together to be able to address the needs in the community.”
