The province's Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure says that Cathedral Grove on Highway 4 is still a concern, but not a priority at this time.
Michael Pearson, Vancouver Island district manager for the MOTI, made a presentation to the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District's Transportation Advisory Committee on Wednesday, July 30. Although the committee's main purpose is to look at an emergency route in and out of the Alberni Valley, Cathedral Grove was a topic of discussion for committee member John McNabb.
“What’s happening there is an absolute recipe for disaster,” McNabb told Pearson on Wednesday. “There are kids walking on the road, there are pets walking on the road. The risk of somebody getting hurt there is really high."
Cathedral Grove, located in MacMillan Provincial Park, is an old-growth forest along Highway 4 between Port Alberni and the east side of Vancouver Island. The park has become a local, national and international attraction, with hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. But the park’s popularity has also led to issues around pedestrian safety and parking on the highway.
In 2018 and 2019, the province started consulting with the public about potential safety improvements along Highway 4 near Cathedral Grove, but the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to these public input sessions.
Although the ministry installed some no-post barriers on the shoulder and yellow pickets along the centre line a few years ago, McNabb says these solutions have only exacerbated the parking issues. He described vehicles parking "a kilometre down the road" on either shoulder, parking over the line and opening doors into traffic.
“We’re chasing a problem, that’s the issue,” admitted Pearson. “So we put [the barriers] there, people are going to go somewhere else.”
Pearson said the province is "still very aware" of the issues at Cathedral Grove, but admitted that Cathedral Grove has been pushed to the side "for a variety of reasons." He said MOTI is still looking at what can be done to manage and improve safety at the provincial park.
"It is a very tricky one," he said. "A lot of it is outside of our ability to do things. But we’re still very invested in planning something we can do there."
Pearson explained that the province has also been doing some monitoring and danger tree assessments near Angel Rock to ensure that the highway doesn't face any unplanned closures in the wake of the 2023 wildfire. Last year's fire left Highway 4 closed for nearly three weeks between Port Alberni and the east side of the island.
“We’re trying to be proactive so we don’t get unplanned closures," said Pearson. “We haven’t seen a lot of rockfall. The work that we did to get through last summer has really paid off and worked. We haven’t had any issues.”
A landslide at the site during a wind and rain storm closed Highway 4 on Christmas Day 2023 for 24 hours.
In the meantime, he added, the province has retained Parsons Engineering to look at emergency routes in and out of the Alberni Valley. Consultants are using mapping and background data to put together a study, which is expected to be completed by early 2025. “Various” routes have been identified for further assessment, said Pearson.
“This is not going to be a permanent route we’re looking at, this is for emergency travel," he explained. “We’ll have a full understanding of each route, the challenges, the investment needed on them and their suitability.”
