It's dark, fast and extremely dangerous, Alan Douglas says.
Two weeks ago in the evening, Douglas was walking down the newly paved path from Clarke Drive on Hospital Hill to Highway 99 when he was hit by a cyclist. Both went flying. Douglas ended up in a neck brace and is currently undergoing CT scans. The cyclist ended up with stitches in his face, Douglas said.
"It was a miracle [the cyclist] and I left walking," he said.
Far from being angry at the cyclist, Douglas is annoyed by the lack of lighting on the new path. With tall trees to one side and the black asphalt, it is difficult for anyone to see people on the path, he said.
"[The path] was fast in the first place; now that it is paved it is super fast and dark," Douglas said.
The District of Squamish, which completed the work a few months ago, should add lights to the trail before other people are injured, he said. If money for lights can't be found, then the path should at least be divided by a painted line to separate pedestrians from cyclists, Douglas said.
"I don't want to see a mother and child get hit," he said.
The district has no plans to add lighting to the path, Squamish Mayor Greg Gardner said. There was discussion about dividing the trail with a centre line, but staff recommended against such an action, Gardner said.
A line could actually "cause more problems than solve them," he said. It forces path users into a narrower space, he said.
The district always wants to hear from the community as to their thoughts and concerns regarding its infrastructure. That information is used to guide staff's decision making, Gardner noted.
"That is why getting feedback from the community is so important," he said.
