Bamfield’s local area director, the Huu-ay-aht First Nations Chief and Port Alberni’s mayor will be meeting with B.C. premier John Horgan and senior staff on Tuesday to discuss the state of Bamfield Road after a fatal bus crash claimed two lives earlier this month.
“It’s critical that we come out with something tangible, some form of action,” said Bob Beckett, Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District Director for Electoral Area A (Bamfield).
Beckett hopes the recent deaths of two young University of Victoria students won’t be in vain.
WATCH: Family of student killed in bus crash calls for change
On Fri., Sept. 13, a charter bus carrying 45 UVic students and two faculty members was en route to Bamfield’s Marine Sciences Centre, when its driver somehow lost control.
The bus plunged some 20 metres down an embankment and rolled over. Two 18-year old first-year biology students, Emma Machado of Winnipeg and John Geerdes from Iowa, were killed.
Seventeen others were taken to hospital, including the driver.
“One day the road is OK,” said Beckett.
“The next day following heavy rains, it can rattle the bridge right out of your teeth.”
It was dark and raining when the Wilson’s Transportation bus full of students on a weekend field trip went off the road around 9:30 p.m.
The Victoria-based company said the driver involved is experienced and the bus recently passed safety inspections.
The cause of the deadly collision remains under investigation but Port Alberni RCMP say alcohol has been ruled out as a contributing factor.
WATCH: Calls for change after deadly bus crash
The tragedy has reignited the more than a decade-old debate about safety on the 85 kilometre logging road that connects Port Alberni and Bamfield.
In 2007, Mid Island-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser called on the then-BC Liberal government to turn the mostly gravel Bamfield Road into a provincial highway, putting it under the authority of the Ministry of Transportation.
Fraser’s push was later supported by the 2008 BC Forest Safety Ombudsman’s report, which recommended “a new public highway designation for resource roads serving as primary or secondary access to communities in B.C.”
READ MORE: Winnipeg teen killed in B.C. bus crash was hungry for life, says family
Beckett says Bamfield Road is the only route into the remote Vancouver Island communities of Bamfield and Anacla, and its condition is hindering the ability to attract people to the West Coast, driving tourists away, and also preventing some elderly residents from travelling to medical appointments outside the community.
“Many seniors who need to get into Port Alberni and Nanaimo for additional healthcare are reluctant to do that because the road is so bad,” said Beckett.
The Huu-ay-aht First Nations has also been actively trying to work with all levels of government to address the safety challenges on the vital link.
WATCH: B.C. bus crash tragedy
In a statement to Global News, the Huu-ay-aht echoed the need for a safe route between Bamfield and Port Alberni.
“Safety on this road is one of our primary concerns as a Nation. Too many lives have already been lost,” said Chief Robert Dennis.
Beckett announced the meeting with the premier in a Facebook post on Friday, saying John Horgan assured him that he and Ministry of Transportation officials were committed to taking appropriate action regarding the condition of Bamfield Road.
“The road surface has to be able to withstand the various types of traffic,” said Beckett.
Road upgrades could include paving or chip sealing while Beckett also wants to see cell coverage in the form of cell sites accessible along the route.
“So that if you did come across an accident you may be about 20 minutes away at the most from a cell site where you could pull over and access 911 that’s absolutely critical,” said Beckett.
The Bamfield Regional District area director said he also spoke with Fraser on Friday, and the area MLA promised to meet with him during the Union of B.C. Municipalities conference to determine how he and his office “could best assist our three communities regarding road improvements.”
READ MORE: Nine years before fatal B.C. bus crash, Alberta teens were stranded on same remote road
The private road is currently operated and maintained by Western Forest Products, which told Global News it has supported local communities’ requests to upgrade the road and has written letters of support to provincial ministers on the matter.
Beckett hopes the fatal bus crash will finally be the impetus that turns the conversation about Bamfield road improvements into action.
“It’s the heart and soul of our two communities, Anacla and Bamfield you know, people have to feel safe.”
-With files from Sean Boynton
Comments