Strathgartney park reroute draws protest

About 100 people attended a rally outside Province House in Charlottetown Tuesday to protest a government proposal to reroute a stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway through Strathgartney Provincial Park.

Last year the provincial government identified sections of the road that it wants redesigned, including a bypass around Churchill to avoid the area’s steep hills and twisting section.

Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Robert Vessey said there are safety concerns with that stretch of the highway.

Vessey got into an argument with one of the protesters who asked him whether he would "consider wrecking the only vista?"

"We are out to public meetings now to have public input and I invite you to come out to the public meeting," Vessey responded.

The province has been holding public meetings to discuss the project, including two in Cornwall on Tuesday and two in Crapaud on Thursday.

"I can’t be bothered listening to you," the protester said over Vessey.

"Well if you want to have your voice heard you should come out to the public meeting," he said.

Tuesday’s protest was organized by the Green Party of P.E.I., who say 2,000 Islanders have signed a petition to save the park.

'Dividing a park in half'

Strathgartney Provincial Park is special to many Islanders, said Jackie Waddell, from the Island Nature Trust, a non-profit group that is opposed to the proposed highway route.

"This is so much more than one-seventh of a provincial park, it’s dividing a provincial park in half," she said.

Waddell said the government should consider other means of making the highway safer without having to build on the park, including reducing the speed limit in certain sections and improving corners.

"Safety is critical," she said. "It’s very, very important but there has to be less expensive, simpler ways of creating a safer highway."

However, Waddell said she was hopeful the government would listen to some of the groups voicing their concern to the current plan.

"This is very much at the proposal stage so we are hoping this is really, truly considered," she said.

Strathgartney Provincial Park is located 20 kilometres west of Charlottetown.