A number of residents living along Government Road are asking CN Rail to take action on what they describe as a makeshift RV storage area adjacent to the tracks.
“From my point of view, out my front window I’d like to look at the forest, not everybody’s crap,” said Sara Shinkaruk, who lives across the street in the Rivers Walk townhomes and has been asking CN to police the area.
In the past few months an increasing number of people have permanently parked their RVs and trailers in the narrow gravel lot adjacent to the railway, south of the Government Road and Olsen Road intersection.
On Tuesday, a large number of vehicles were parked on site, including five trailers and three motorhomes. The majority of other vehicles were cars and vans, although debris left out on Tuesday suggests one person might be living in one of the vehicles.
A CN sign installed on a hydro pole warns that “unsightly and abandoned vehicles” will be towed.
“I knew I was living next to train tracks and I’m fine with that, but I didn’t pay to look at abandoned cars and everybody’s RV and boat and trailer. Just parking your car over there and moving it every day, that’s fine. I understand parking occurs, but this is just stuff that is left there,” said Shinkaruk.
She said most of the homes in Rivers Walk include a double-car garage and small driveways, and owners of large RVs should just pay for storage space in Squamish.
Fellow Rivers Walk resident Geoffrey Waterson said he currently parks his truck in the spot. Waterson has three other housemates and the double garage doesn’t provide enough space for their four vehicles.
“I need to park my vehicle elsewhere,” said Waterson. “Fortunately, there is the lot right across the road.”
Waterson uses his truck regularly, and said for a time the area was being used for regular parking.
Now he said many of the vehicles and RVs parked in the CN lot are clearly there for long-term storage.
“As someone who parks there, it’s a little frustrating as now there are fewer spots available to those that park frequently used vehicles there. That being said, I understand they probably have just as much right to be there as I do,” he said.
Waterson said ideally the lot would be available for short-term parking, from three to seven days, but he acknowledges enforcement would be difficult with the current arrangement.
The land is not owned by the municipality, meaning bylaw officers don’t have authority to ticket or tow vehicles. Technically the land is owned by BCR properties but leased to CN Rail.
CN western spokesperson Kate Fenske said the railway is aware of the situation and confirmed that the land is CN property.
“We are currently performing an assessment of the location and will notify vehicle owners who are parked illegally. Those vehicles will need to be moved,” she said in an emailed statement.
Mayor Patricia Heintzman said after receiving a number of complaints, municipal bylaw has been in discussion with CN to discuss the issue, but they do not have authority to police the area.
She said residents concerned about the situation should relay their complaints to CN.
