Do you have suggestions?

Got it — here’s a letter written in opposition to overnight parking restrictions, specifically from the perspective of kayakers or individuals who need early/late access to the water. This version could be used to appeal to a local council, parks department, or homeowners’ association:

[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State, ZIP Code]
[Email Address]
[Phone Number]
Date: July 12, 2025

To: [City Council / Parks Department / HOA Board]
Subject: Opposition to Overnight Parking Restrictions – Impact on Kayakers and Water Access

Dear [Council Members / Board / To Whom It May Concern],

I am writing as a concerned resident and regular kayaker to respectfully express my opposition to the newly proposed (or recently implemented) overnight parking restrictions near [name of launch site / waterfront area / specific street or lot].

While I understand the intent behind these restrictions—whether for safety, maintenance, or traffic management—they present a significant and unintended barrier to those of us who use the waterfront responsibly during early morning or late-night hours.

Kayaking and other paddle sports are uniquely dependent on weather and tide conditions, which often occur outside standard daytime hours. Many of us launch before sunrise or return well after dark, especially in the summer when conditions are ideal. Restricting overnight parking near launch points:

Limits safe and legal access to the water for non-motorized users.
Penalizes responsible recreational use that aligns with conservation and low-impact values.
Disproportionately affects locals and visitors who do not have waterfront property or alternative access.
We urge the [city/association/department] to consider one or more of the following compromises:

Designating limited overnight parking spots for watercraft users with a permit or displayed pass.
Allowing overnight parking during certain seasonal windows or during known tidal cycles.
Creating a registration system for responsible kayakers and paddle sport users to ensure compliance and accountability.
Kayaking promotes wellness, connection with nature, and responsible use of our public spaces. Restrictive parking policies, if not thoughtfully designed, risk discouraging outdoor activity and creating unnecessary conflict between users and regulators.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I would welcome the opportunity to speak further about practical alternatives that balance access with community needs.

Sincerely,
[Your Full Name]
[Optional: Affiliation with local paddling group, environmental org, etc.]

Would you like me to tailor this letter to a specific town or group (e.g., a particular launch site, park, or paddling club)?

. . . still focusing on water/parking/site/member access issues:

New member [smaller and smaller apts] access issues likely will provide more challenge over time, so any reactions will become more important over time. Interactions/agreements with other clubs [the Locarno example] or utilities [storage] or other members [say spare boats as club boats sound like a no-go] go some of the way for initial introduction, but more immersive involvement is difficult to enable – like how is one to get and store one’s own boat?

Maybe a few moments of quarterly web meetings could cover some appropriate commercial folders or even a pneumatic example or so. As well, maybe a yearly workshop, for those who would like to make their own folder – especially say a compact one [say based on river-sea crossover kayaks] – might go some small distance to addressing the issue and yet still be a real multi-day kayak but readily stowable in a closet or portable on transit if car-less.

Another idea to attempt getting around access parking ‘rules’ would be to try to get some kind of alternate status for SKABC members . . . say to trade on the great Howe Sound site stewardship status but maybe more specifically on say a perpetual ‘shore-cleanup’.

All of us usually carry some kind of garbage bag for odd junk we find, so what if we try to get some kind of Metro Park recognition with car stickers that say something like ‘Weekday Shore Pickup’ or ‘Metro Beach Cleanup’ anything along those lines.

Heck, SKABC officially [and others individually – I have and Nick and I have] has done a fair bit of cleanup on other lower mainland locations without trading on the publicity – maybe try and leverage that and the other creds for parking beach cleanup car-stickers to indicate elevated status . . . or at the most minimal and despite official recognition make up our own ‘beach cleanup work-in-progress’ in car banners/ cards [say like those handicapped cards on mirrors] that may at the very least give a little parking time respite, heh heh.

**

On the separate issue of attracting new trip leaders, what about reducing required qualifications when leading simple trips.

For example, how much leader qualification is really needed for a trips up Indian Arm, or longer ones up Pitt Lake, or Stave Lake, or say much longer ones up and around the Sechelt Inlet. Or maybe an intermediate for Harrison. Other than basic rescue ability and listening to weather – just about anyone could lead one of those – and they sure would get you out there.

Anyway, some ideas.

As Membership Officer I agree that access to equipment is a challenge for Members who join the club without a kayak. However we have paddles at locations were rentals are available. However I do feel we don’t want the club to own equipment. Club Locarno is what I always suggest and believe we co-exist very well together. I have been reaching out to club Locarno to invite them to our social events in the hopes of growing our membership & possibility increasing our enrollment in training.

Interesting . . . a reply I previously wrote has disappeared even tho’ the ‘Last Post’ and reply number reports that it’s there.

Anyway:

The use of ‘less than optimal’ bivouac-style overnite stops is a strategy that I think will be workable. Using this approach or one that slightly challenges ‘policies’ could go a long way to enabling transit past this difficult Keats to Thormanby stretch at least. To me at least, there are several candidate locations, in a descending order, that exceed, or meet this strategy:

The first, and to my mind the best, is Wilson Creek. This is actually crown land and has previously designated for public enjoyment for decades. The main drawback to this and other Sechelt region site designations is that the local indigenous group will not support any additional BCMT designation. However in the meantime, this, and other, crown locations should be able to be used until literally closed to public use. Altho a small site, it has quite interesting weather shelter at all except at extreme low water. And is about the best location one could want:

Wilson Creek:

Next, just a little SE of Wilson Ck, is a weird undesignated piece of land in seemingly perpetual limbo: the very end of Beach-David Avenue. This piece of previously private land seems to be in the never-never-land of handover to the Sunshine Cst parks system, but not yet accomplished [from when I last looked into it]. Quite a large undeveloped upland, with a small sea access that is used by locals in-the-know for small boat storage. So temporal ‘kayak storage’ should be ok while just ‘inadvertently’ bivouacing a few meters upland – or possible right there at the t.o. the beach:

Beach Avenue:

The next one is a [66’ wide, 21+ meters] Road End Right-of-Way that is the water access to the Roberts Ck Campground that is about 1 km upland. While certainly not a designated overnight stop, I think a ‘temporary’ overnite stop could well be ‘argued’ for as that upland hike is just too far just this only time. This location is just a little more SE of Wilson Ck and Beach Ave – so all three are reasonable central betw Keats and Thormanby.

Park Ave:

And the last one included here would be more ‘stealthish’: a small wooded area at the SE corner of Chaster Beach. This location has been used by others for temporary stays but another drawback is that it’s quite a bit further S: only 6 km from Keats – so not a great halfway stop​ – but provocative like the others:

Chaster  Bch:

Anyway, these are locations that could qualify for the mentioned short ‘overnite’ stop strategy. I personally think that Wilson Ck is the best because of location, ocean shelter, and wilderness aspect.  Leaving aside the BCMT hat, comments?