Bowen Island residents say they’re still waiting for answers on proposed $40 million park

Eight months after Metro Vancouver announced plans to create a new, $40-million campground and park on Bowen Island, residents say concerns about traffic, overcrowding and gentrification as a result of the proposal remain unaddressed.

“It’s not that we don’t want the park and it’s not that we don’t want visitors,” said Marian Bantjes, a 22-year resident of the island. “It’s just that we don’t know how to get them here.”

A petition opposing the proposed park on change.org has generated more than 500 signatures as of Saturday and a Facebook group called Bowen Islanders Concerned About the Park has more than 300 members. Bowen Island has a population of about 4,300 people, according to government statistics.

Bantjes, who has submitted an alternative proposal to Metro Vancouver for managing camping traffic, suggested that ferry infrastructure on the island wasn’t designed to handle the expected influx of visitors once the park opened and could cause serious problems for locals.