The important blacktop projects of the area may get some needed local gravel, but that could mean the peaceful backcountry lanes of Kersley may get the rush and roar of industrial traffic.
The Roberta Pit near Sisters Creek, a popular recreation site, hasn’t been mined since 1979, but that could soon change. Gravel doesn’t grow on trees. The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) needs gravel for road repair and other highways projects, and there is easy access already established at that site.
A petition and public protest is underway because other values in the area - light tourism, family life, rural recreation, nature - are also well established at the same spot.
“The gravel pit is in the center of the Sisters Creek Rec Site which is surrounded by community heritage sites and trails. The trail that leads down to Sisters Creek and the Fraser River is accessed through the gravel pit,” said nearby resident Tina LeMoine, in a statement made through the Save Sisters Creek Committee.
“If the gravel pit is activated, it may involve a sizeable extension and depth of the existing gravel pit, affecting the central meeting point for everything and changing it forever,” said the committee. “It will affect the access and use of the trail system and rec site. The trail that leads to the gravel pit may be widened for dump truck use, affecting the appearance of the area, with more potential logging and affecting residents living in the area and loss of park-like appearance. Public access may be affected. The access down to the Fraser River and Sisters Creek may be affected. The dump trucks will be travelling through the community turning the community into an industrial area. Dump trucks will be driving down narrow community roads that have children walking to and from school, playing, riding bikes. Having an industrial area in a community affects safety of residents, children and animals. Safety of people accessing trails with industrial traffic on horseback, bikes, etc.”
Members of the committee have met with MOTI officials and have been told that a final decision about the gravel pit’s activation has not been made, giving them hope that a concerted effort to communicate displeasure might be effective.
MOTI officials told the same thing to The Observer, when asked about the potential project.
“The ministry is evaluating how best to source the gravel needed to support improvements to area roads, including the Kersley Dale Landing Road project,” a ministry spokesperson said. “This includes all available ministry gravel sources, including the Roberta Pit to which you refer.”
To make matters more complex, there is actually a pair of gravel pits in close proximity, neither of which have been operational for quite some time.
“The Roberta Pit is next to the Sisters Creek Recreational Site, while the Sisters Creek Pit is south of that area,” the ministry said. “As part of the evaluation, we’re considering the feedback we received from this recent community meeting. We also need to consider the quantity and quality of materials, and the final alignment of the Kersley Dale Landing Road.
We will continue to engage the community as the Cariboo Road Recovery Project progresses.”
The ministry has outlined the road construction needs in documents provided to the concerned residents, and the public at large.
See the Kersley-Dale Landing Road project outline HERE.
See the Cariboo region’s whole road recovery plan HERE.
The Save Sisters Creek Committee has their petition available for signing at the Kersley Store, and also online at their Facebook page titled Sister’s Creek Gravel Pit Preservation. You can go straight to that site by CLICKING HERE.