As a relatively active senior and dog owner, I frequent all of the local trails and beaches. This morning at the Svoboda Trailhead kiosk, my friend’s dog found and rolled-in human excrement.
How do I know this? Animals don’t pile toilet paper beside their poop. There were three campers still sleeping there. I don’t begrudge them a free sleep, but I am incensed at the respective authorities for failing to provide services for legitimate day users.
I stopped taking my dog anywhere near Redsands beach — same outcome. Svoboda, Troop, Mountain Station, Pulpit Rock, James Johnston Regional Park — no facilities for hundreds of day users. Grohman Regional Park is another problem. This spring an outhouse was placed on the pond side, but there is no signage in the parking area or on the east side where there are picnic tables.
Sure enough, my dog had a human feces encounter this week just beyond those picnic tables.
Within the city the Rail Trail is a fantastic resource. People exercise there, run, ski, walk, cycle, rock climb or exercise their dogs. I bet there have been studies and reports linking recreational usage to requirements for toilet facilities. - something like of ten or hundred or a thousand people go there, one of them will need to use a toilet. If not,
City of Nelson and Regional District, please accept my report as a valid survey — facilities are overdue.
I’d even crowd fund to have them installed and maintained, but I’m afraid there might be too much red tape preventing random citizen activism. I’m looking for action here, I’m calling the need: Society Helping Install Toilets. There is an acronym for that.
Drew Danniels
Nelson