Skip to content

Hartley Creek Rd a danger in all seasons: Local resident

A resident of Hartley Creek Rd has put together a report detailing solutions for Hartley Creek Rd
29988602_web1_220811-FFP-HARTLEY-dFC_1
Images of Hartley Creek Rd rutted out over summer. (Image courtesy of Rebecca Vaughan)

Safety issues with Hartley Creek Service Road have become so overwhelming that an Elk Valley local has prepared an entire 15-page report on the road’s flaws, complete with recommendations on what needs to be done to rectify them.

The report, by Hartley Creek Service Rd resident Rebecca Vaughan has been submitted to the local MLA and the authorities responsible for maintaining the road.

In the report, Vaughan lists off six key issues with the road today, from its width, surface material and drainage, blind corners, ditches, use by off-road vehicles and lack of clear signage.

“Over the past nine years I’ve grown increasingly concerned that the declining condition of Hartley Creek Service Road is resulting in increased safety risks for resident and non-resident users alike,” wrote Vaughan.

A popular road giving access to Hartley Lake, and through to the Bull River, Hartley Creek Service Road is just north of Fernie and features on multiple websites as a key recreational connector.

Vaughan said that the daily average usage of the road was increasing – and brought receipts to prove it – with her report quantitatively measuring the number of cars, ATVs, mountain bikes and motorized bikes that travelled northward on the road on weekends over a two-month period in summer ‘21.

The daily average in July and August ‘21 was 42 cars and trucks, 3 ATVs, 5 mountain bikes and 5 dirt bikes, which Vaughan said was “only a snapshot” of the traffic using the road.

In her report Vaughan said the width of the road made it perilous during all seasons, while the maintenance of it was lacking due to only being graded twice a year, and quickly reverting back to a pot-holed and rutted state due to poor surface material and drainage. The road is also beset with poor visibility, deep ditches hidden by snow in winter, and a lack of signage warning of conditions.

Vaughan makes 12 suggestions in her report, ranging from the installation of signage warning of conditions and encouraging responsible use of the road, re-engineering or redesigning steep and dangerous parts of the road, installing guard rails next to steep drops, to properly resurfacing the road so it can drain properly, and grading it more often given its popularity.

Vaughan said she was yet to hear back from either our local MLA or the agencies responsible for the road.

READ MORE: Two fires of note in Elk Valley area



scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter