* This post has been updated at 12.35 pm with new information regarding budgets & who to voice your concern to *
The Hurley has gone back to being a Forest Service Road! This news is really great and it sounds like more maintenance will be done. That’s the good news, now for the bad news. Unfortunately now there is no money in the budget for snow plowing and the plan is to let the road melt out naturally. This means there will be no Hurley access until late June or July/August some years depending on the snow pack. The budget this year is $110,000 which includes a one time payment of $80,000 to work on known road issues. That only leaves $30,000 for the rest of the summer maintenance, grading etc.
Tom Illidge the local contractor who has plowed the Hurley many times estimated this year it would cost between $8,000 – $10,000. Tom is ready to go if he gets the call!
This decision was made by Provincial Government & not the Squamish Lillooet Regional District who were only told about it. If you are not happy with this decision you need to let your local MLA know about it as soon as possible. Give them a call and send them an email with your thoughts and suggestions.
Jackie Tegart 877-378-4802 jackie.tegart.mla@leg.bc.ca
Jordan Sturdy 604 922-1153 jordan.sturdy.mla@leg.bc.ca
Message from our SLRD Area A Director Debbie Demare: The single most important thing you can do is phone your MLA , whoever that is, and ask them to call you back.. Keep phoning until they do. They are supposed to represent YOU not the other way around. Then send an email. Then take the survey above, click on Hurley Survey above these posts. As your regional district director, as usual, it falls to local government to be the ones doing the real representing of their residents, I am hosting a toll free teleconference tomorrow(Thursday, 15th) at 8 am. You need to email me if you wish to be on it and I will send out the teleconference info late tonight. demare87@gmail.com
Please take this survey to let us know what your thoughts are about this decision:
Hurley Survey
This is the official statement from MLA Jackie Tegart from her website:
PEMBERTON – The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations is assuming ownership and summer maintenance of the Hurley River Road from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
The Hurley River Road is a 49-kilometre two-lane gravel road, located 30 kilometres west of Pemberton, which services the communities of Gold Bridge, Bralorne and Gun Lake. Until now, various sections fell under the authority of two different ministries. This change puts in place a Forest Service Road designation for the entire length of the road.
“The Hurley River Road is an important link between communities and supports local tourism and economic development opportunities,” said West Vancouver-Sea to Sky MLA Jordan Sturdy. “By bringing the road under the purview of one ministry, we can ensure consistent management of the route, improve road safety for summer travellers and importantly, legitimize off-road vehicle use.”
“This initiative came from the community and lots of benefits will flow to residents including opportunities to promote local economic development,” said Fraser-Nicola MLA Jackie Tegart.
“I am very pleased that MLA Sturdy and MLA Tegart listened to myself and our community and worked hard to make this step in the right direction for the long-term maintenance of the road possible,” said Debbie Demare, Electoral Area A Director for the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District. “This road is a critical economic driver for the Bridge River Valley, and it is great to see the government do something that will allow for a more effective use of available budget and produce a better result on the Hurley River Road.”
The Hurley River Road traverses remote, high mountain terrain and several avalanche paths. As part of the transfer agreement, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will provide up to $110,000 for additional gravel, drainage, maintenance and other improvements for the coming summer season. The road will remain unmaintained during the winter season. There will be no snowplowing on the road, regardless of time of year. The transfer of maintenance funding will improve safety, reliability and the travelling experience for tourists and other summer road users.
I love the scenery and Bralorne area , thus I had the Hurley numerous times carefully driven with my 4×4 truck. I had planned on doing it again beginning of June. , but regrettably, it seems the road will still be closed. I don’t know the mechanics why that is, but this state of gross neglect of fiduciary duty toward citizenry is clearly unacceptable in the year 2014 . Hopefully reason will prevail.
Re: John Doe. Kinda sounds like you’re one of those ‘ recreational Gun Lake property owners with money ‘ you were referring to earlier. Comfortable with paying a toll so you can get up to your recreational property faster. Well I can tell you I’m not comfortable with paying a toll for something that my tax dollars already pay for. I can’t afford to pay for an extra 4 hrs round trip in gas or time and what little money I do have left I try to spend in the community i.e. The pub, the grocery store and local contractors. I didn’t have to point you out , you were the one standing head and shoulders above everyone else on your soap box. :p. P.S. It’s the end of the school year so there’s gonna be a whole lot more lay-offs coming……in case you didn’t know.
There are many avenues that have not been considered. There are a number of commercial organizations in the area. I believe that if there was better communication between the Operators / Land Users and the governing body’s that a long term plain could be established. As for the realities of the Hurley it is a great stretch of road that I hope my children can bring their children to discover the beauty of the heritage that is our country.
There are many benefits to opening the Hurley up for the May long weekend but as it has been previously stated, in years past waiting for the snow melt was the way. It is tougher these days to maintain and pay for property in BC and water front property at that. It is especially difficult when it is a recreational property that is a second property. Being a home owner in the Fraser Valley I have also seen my property taxes close to triple in the past 10 years. It is tough to make the trips up to the “cabin” to justify holding onto the property being an investment property or an inherited “family” property. It is sad to see people having to sell off land because of the financial hardship that our real estate market has placed on us. My wife works for a Fraser valley school district and handed out 200 lay off notices this week. There are many issues and hardships being placed on a lot of people. So if my comments came across as harsh then so be it. It is a harsh reality that the little guy gets it worst. A small, non descript mountain road doesn’t cone across as a priority to some which is truly sad. I drive the Hurley a handful of times a year for purely recreational purposes. I would be very comfortable paying a user fee or “toll” to drive the Hurley to pay for the plowing and upkeep . I pay a user fee when fly fishing certain waters and for other outdoor endeavors.
This IS a political issue and that is how it must be handled. Email and call your representative and voice your opinion. There is emotion in the discussion here that would be well served voicing your concerns.
As for a last name you can go with Doe…. there are many people commenting here using a first names only but since I had a few small comments different from yours you singled me out.
It’s true, we don’t get much for our tax dollars up here and now we’re getting even less.
Waiting for the Hurley snow to melt in late June or July is unacceptable. I’ve spent all winter dodging rocks and big rigs on Hwy 40. I’d like a nice peaceful slow ride over the Hurley as soon as possible.
Hi there every one I’ll drop $200 in the kitty to have the hurley open for the may long . then i think the bill should be sent to our MLA and they can reimburse the tax payer because we have all ready payed for this service . Maybe they can just call it a travel expense that seems to work for all government officials
Ms. Tegart
My husband and I attended a meeting at the Gold Bridge Community Center shortly after you were elected to represent our area. The only topic discussed was the maintenance of the Hurley and Highway 40, but mainly the concern over the maintenance of the Hurley. It was made very apparent that the road conditions are not acceptable and dangerous. The Hurley could be our only way out of the valley if there happen to be fires in the area. The road conditions are absolutely horrid and nothing is being done to improve the situation. We left the meeting feeling confident that you had listened to all of our concerns and had witnessed the road conditions yourself and that our issues would be addressed. We felt confident that the Hurley would be open and in better shape for the May long weekend. We now hear that there has not been money allotted for snow removal. Clearly we were wrong to feel our concerns were going to be looked after. We are absolutely disappointed with this and can only assume that because we are in a smaller voter base that our concerns do not take precedence over other areas which would provide more Liberal votes.
Sincerely
Paddy Aitken
I agree. Whistler corridor is the recipient of a 7.1 MILLION dollar gift this year. We are peanuts.
Before we go and offer solutions and extra $ to do what we already pay taxes for, let’s put pressure on the provincial government to make it the goal to have the road open for the May long weekend as well as properly maintained for the rest of the driving season.
This is the only thing we seem to get for our high property taxes and now they want to cut that back even more! Phone your MLA’s people!
Let’s not give them an out here.
Does anyone have toms address
I would like to send him $100.00
The single most important thing you can do is phone your MLA , whoever that is, and ask them to call you back.. Keep phoning until they do. They are supposed to represent YOU not the other way around. Then send an email. Then take the survey above, click on Hurley Survey above these posts. As your regional district director, as usual, it falls to local government to be the ones doing the real representing of their residents, I am hosting a toll free teleconference tomorrow(Thursday, 15th) at 8 am. You need to email me if you wish to be on it and I will send out the teleconference info late tonight.
If you are going to step up on the soap box, introduce yourself so we know who we’re listening to…..first and last name please and thanks! 😉
If you want something done about it, send a note to the MLAs listed. I just did.
Venting on this site alone may not get to their eyes.
It is very narrow-minded of certain people posting to assume that only the rich come to BRV. There are a lot of long time families dotted around the area who have probably been coming to or living in this area a lot longer than you have. Besides all those “lavish” homes drive the property values up. And to say they don’t pump money into the local economy may be true for some, but for others they visit the pubs, the general store, the gas station (when there was one), Tyax, and other places.
A shout out to Dave Aitken’s post. Very well written. 🙂
Message to the Ministry of Forests, quit fooling around and get the Hurley River road up to a drivable standard. Get it open for the May long-weekend!!! Waiting for the snow to melt really makes me wonder…… Where did that crazy idea come from? Could be July before it’s all gone!!
We have this great Sea to Sky highway that ends at Pemberton………why can’t the road to the Valley (the Hurley River road) be treated like a continuation? Being able to travel either to or from the lower mainland and the BRV in four hours rather than the six hours it takes via the Fraser Canyon and Highway 40 really makes a difference, especially when heading in or out for a weekend. I also feel a secondary road in and out of the Valley is very important and could prove to be crucial in the event of a fire.
Sure, I’m fortunate to have a place at Gun Lake, but I pay BIG taxes for that privilege. Where do the taxes I pay go, and more important, what do I get in return for the taxes I pay?
This “Mickey-Mouse” handling of the Hurley River Road sounds like we need a change in the Government, el pronto!!
Richard
These people making decision like this should be remove .I pay tax for no service I even pay for street
lights I do not have . Find the lousy $ 10000 and open the Hurley . You just lost my vote
Please contact Jordan Sturdy and Jackie Tegart our mla’s need to know your opinions !!!!
Back in mid 70s and early 80s it was common that the road was not open for the May long weekend. The road was never plowed then. Even in the most extreme winters, it was always open for the July 1rst long weekend. Most vancouverites and north vancouverites used to take the Duffy lake road in May and November 11th. Linda andTom’s solution sounds like the most reasonable answer if people really feel the need to haveit opened
If we wait for government to back track and throw in the $10,000 it will be melted out by then. I’m sure there are 100 people with $100 to throw in for tom to have it plowed next week. Too late for the long weekend but better than mid July. Let me know where to send my money.
(For those who say it is against the principle to pay out of pocket, I would like to just get to my place more easily this summer and fight for next summer)
This is a #FirstWorldProblem as I see it. How can the people with money get up to their “playground” faster? Sure there are high property taxes with little return on the investment but with all the lavish properties going up around the lake you can pass a hat around and get enough money to pave the Hurley if you really wanted to. As for “spending money in Gold Bridge” that is a crock of ….. Most everyone will stop in Pemberton or Lillooet to do their bulk shopping and head up to the cabin bypassing the town altogether. There are valid points being made about forest fire escape plans but all I am reading here is being inconvenienced for the party weekend.
steps off his soap box
Surprized ? No! Disappointed ? Yes! Don’t worry folks it’s all part of the plan. Forestry used to maintain the Hurley Rd and when we voiced our concerns about the quality of the maintenance the Government decided to lower our expectations and save some money to boot. So , they handed it off to a couple of ministries and they kicked that political ball around between themselves and in the process lowered our expectations because now the maintenance is worse than ever and we’re wishing we had the old maintenance back. But, they’re not going to give it all back at once. No, they’ll hold off on the May long weekend opening until they need to pull a miracle out of their asses to make themselves look good. If not this year then perhaps in an election year. Funny thing about politics though, it’s a ‘results’ driven profession and I haven’t seen any results here to vote Liberal again.
We have had a cabin in the valley for 30 years, pay for fire, schools and hospital and lights in our taxes, none of which we use. That would be fine if we could actually use the cabin which takes quite a bit of time to get to through Lillooet which is not a viable option. Are we now going to be down to three months use? We have parks here and businesses. Is it all to be abandoned after all that work to sustain it so that the number of people in the valley will dwindle to the point where Lillooet can then get its hands on the Hydro money for itself which helps to sustain the valley. This is called having the little guys fight among themselves to the point of destruction. Is this really progress?
Shirley
What a load of crap,they wait days before the long weekend to tell us the hurely might not be open till the middle of summer,a short summer season made shorter,for lots of people that rely on using the hurely till the may long weekend till the fall,as the illidges all ready stated he does the clearing of the snow in the hurely for next to nothing,now only one long way in and one way out,for god knows how long.
To put a positive spin on this is garbage. This is NOT really good news. I go into the bridge river valley each year, but not this year. TOO LONG…….
Get those logging company’s to plow it, god knows how much cash they have pulled out of the forest. This should be a mandate for plundering the region! Or what about BC Hydro? They already flooded the valley, step up.
Ms Tegart
I have just been informed that, once again the residents of the Bridge River Valley are being short changed by the Provincial Government.
I am speaking of the snow clearing and ongoing maintenance of the Hurley River Forest Service Road.
We were pleased to hear recently that the road was placed under the jurisdiction of one Provincial entity as opposed to the multi jurisdictional nightmare of the past years.
Unfortunately our optimism was short lived as we have now been told that while the Hurley may be maintained to a higher degree, nothing will take place until the snow melts. There will be no snow removal.
Like most people who have spent time in the Valley, I have seen snow at the summit in August!
What does that mean?
When will this maintenance begin?
When is snow melted to the degree that will satisfy the Forest Service?
As you know, we have a small population in winter, but this is a very popular area in the warm months.
My daughter lives in Vancouver and can be here in less than four hours using the Hurley, but her trip takes more than five and a half hours using the alternate routes.
As we pointed out at the Community meeting in Gold Bridge some months ago, Road 40 is a very dangerous road.
We are also faced with a potentially dangerous fire hazard. This is a dry forest and the area is already parched. A secondary escape route may be invaluable in the event of an evacuation. Right now, only Road 40 is available.
I personally pointed out at the Community meeting that my wife and I pay virtually the same amount of property taxes at Gun Lake that we paid in Langley.
In Langley we had sidewalks, sewer, police, fire, schools, garbage pickup, water and all the other amenities we expect our taxes to pay for.
I also pointed out that some ministry of the Provincial Government had seen fit to spend around $175,000 to improve or replace two bridges in a very remote area of the Bridge River Valley called Slim Creek Road. This is an area used by a few dozen snow mobilers in winter, as opposed to the thousands that use the Hurley.
We obviously need whomever championed that ridiculous waste of money to become the champion of the Hurley.
Here we receive next to nothing for our tax dollar.
We live on West Gun Lake road. The road is graded twice in a good year. We have limited snow removal in winter. That’s it!!!
Where are my hard earned tax dollars going?
What are the local busunesses to do?
As our elected representative we expect you to represent our interests.
We are talking about relatively small amounts of money, yet we seem to keep being forgotten.
Sincerely
David and Paddy Aitken
This decision is horrible for the Bridge River area and the positive spin the politicians are trying to put on it is insulting. From what I understand, the $110,000. mentioned in the article is not a budget, it’s a one time grant. Who knows what the budget is for the road going forward but if they can’t afford a $15,000. plow once a year it’s not much. We need to call our MLA as they are obviously not capable of simple math related to long term economic benefits.
Jackie Tegart 877-378-4802 Jordan Sturdy 604 922-1153
So basically, the Ministry of Transportation is providing a one time $110,000 grant for the hurley as part of the handover. What is the future budget for the road after this year? And how does it compare to the previous budget? Not too sure there is any good news here.
Families have summer cabins at gun lake, a large amount of them coming up from the lower mainland, these tax payers should have easy access to their properties without have to drive a extra 2 hours to Lilooet. Not to mention that highway 40 , from Lilooet to Goldbridge is very dangerous and not safe. There should be 2 access roads to Goldbridge, if there is ever a forest fire crews need to be up there quick. Not to mention that Bralorne and Goldbridge are small communities who thrive off of the summer months. Plow the Hurley!!
wow, what a disappointment…i don’t see how there could possibly be a positive spin to this announcement. it’s simple math: if the hurley’s closed for half the summer, folks like me don’t visit and businesses suffer.
Absolute bullshit. All the spinsters make it sound like this is a good thing, and want to claim victory. We pay as much property tax as a house in the lower mainland, yet with no municipal services like water, sewage, policing or fire protection. The one thing we all ask is to have the Hurley cleared for May long weekend so we can come up and enjoy the area, and now that has been taken away from us.
Lets figure out how much to clear the Hurley once a year and everyone throws in $250 and lets get it done in a way that government can’t.
BTW we won’t be coming up this weekend either…
absolutely agree , a little rough but open is better than smooth and closed . Isn’t it ?
Additional funds for maintenance while leaving the road snowed in and the Bridge River Valley bereft of visitors is false economy. The suggestion that this is some sort of improvement or benefit to the people of the valley and all of the travellers that start touring on the May long weekend is the most pathetic form f political spin. “We are giving more money for maintenance, you just can’t access the road for two of the four summer months”. Brilliant! This is the death of the business in Gold Bridge and Bralorne. Hydro and the Regional District really should step up,to,the table.
We are very surprised and disappointed that anyone would think that this would be a acceptable option. They talk about the Hurley being important as it supports local tourism and economical development and then not open it up for the summer months? There must be some incorrect information in this article.
The sooner the Hurley is opened the sooner the people can start to pump some money into these communitys. Without the road being plowed it is anybodys guess when it will open. This is definitely a bad move.
The overall quality of the road is not at issue. As someone else mentioned, most of us have 4×4 vehicles, and can navigate a few ruts and potholes. We need access to our property in the valley. By not opening the road and making it an almost 6 hr drive you cut off many people who would come to the BRV for the weekend. These are people who spend their money in the businesses in town. These are also the people who pay huge taxes for the privilege of owning property in the valley. A move like this will isolate us even more. This is a downward spiral, sure to destroy what little is left of these charming towns that have been plundered for their natural resources and given nothing back in return.
For heavens sake, let Tom open the road!
Most people that drive the Hurley do so in SUV’s and 4X4 trucks, we don’t need the surface improved we just need the Hurley opened for the long weekend, for tourists, ball players, and friends of families in this valley. Tom opens the Hurley with his Cat for next to nothing, what is wrong with this picture.
Duffy lake road this weekend it is.
I live in whistler and spend a good number of weekends in the Bridge river valley supporting local businesses. Not having the Hurley open until late June or July will mean that we will probably go to different destinations.
And not all Gunn lakers blast up the road. That’s just a NIMBY attitude.
The snow could potentially stay there well into the summer. Jackie Tegart ,please do not pat yourself on the back yet as this initiative could be the death of small business in our valley.
The snow pack could stay until late summer , basically killing summertime tourism industry that we depend on
Also the gun lake residents would not get to their cabins until late summer, property values would decline and when that happens
Property assessed values would go down and less tax again for the tax man.how can we possibly call this a success without doing the entire job.
I see no benefit to what has happened here!!!
I think BC Hydro should at least
plow the remaining part for
the May long weekend.
It’s the least they can do
for destroying the valley.
As a business owner in Bralorne, this is really good news about the Hurley being maintained and improved in the summer months, as the East Hurley literally ends at my business’ parking lot.
As for the snow removal in May, we are relying on our customers who come to open their cabins and kick off summer, on the May long weekend.The majority of the people live in the fraser valley, and Vancouver, so they come over the Hurley, which cuts travel time by half, if they came over the Duffy and Hwy 40.
Another concern is the low snow pack, and threat of forest fire, with only 1 escape route.
I’m sure that the majority of Hurley users have trucks, SUV vehicles that can take a rougher ride. I am sure I’m not the only one who would rather have the plowing service to prolong the duration of access instead of providing a smoother ride for this road.
It would be great news for the Hurley to be open and the best option for all the gun lakers that blast up road 40 not slowing down for opposing traffic. They are a menace every weekend.