Fourteen people were kicked out of Thetis Lake Park and two were arrested over the weekend. All removals from the park involved alcohol.
Capital Region District (CRD) bylaw officers, View Royal Fire and West Shore RCMP have teamed up to enhance summer patrols.
View Royal Fire Chief Paul Hurst has been outspoken on the issue of alcohol consumption and cliff jumping at the park for years.
“Every summer it’s the same narrative, Alcohol, cliff jumping, problems in the park and it takes its toll.” Hurst said.
The long time firefighter and his crew had a Zodiac patrol boat out on the water this weekend while Mounties and bylaw officers patrolled the shoreline.
While calling it a success overall, Hurst knows there are still issues to solve in the long run.
“As successful as it was in limiting any injuries or falls from the cliff, the underlying issue is still alcohol in the park. And there were 14 people evicted from the park there were alcohol issues,” he said.
Bylaw officers handed out four tickets for open alcohol and 12 warnings, the majority of which were for alcohol.
“Anytime that there’s an injury at the park where alcohol is a factor, it’s a concern for all of us and so our efforts are really, and always have been, around trying to quell the amount of alcohol and other intoxicating stuff at the park.” said CRD Parks Manager Mike MacIntyre.
West Shore RCMP made two arrests over the three-day stretch. The first was for public intoxication. A middle-aged man was removed from the park and taken back to the station to sober up. The second was an impaired driving arrest that was actually assisted by a bylaw officer.
“We’re grateful that we’re working hand in hand with them and we were right nearby in the area. They spotted what they thought was an impaired driver leaving the parking lot at Thetis Lake, turns out it was in fact an impaired driver and so that individuals been arrested.” said Const. Nancy Saggar, media relations officer with West Shore RCMP.
The three parties will continue patrolling CRD parks but are expected to discuss more safety measures in the long run.
Ben Nesbit
