Julian Knight would rather be fishing.
But the retired cop who lives in Port Coquitlam is frustrated he can’t put his 19-foot Trophy boat into the water and head up Burrard Inlet to catch salmon or drop some crab traps.
That’s because the boat ramp at Port Moody’s Rocky Point Park is open on a trial basis only to city residents and holders of an annual pass who book a launch time in advance. The limited opening follows several weeks of outright closure because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Knight said he normally buys the annual pass in late March, as the weather improves and he yearns to get out for his weekly excursions. But this year, that was too late as the pandemic and restrictions on unnecessary travel settled over British Columbia in the middle of the month. And with many other public boat ramps in Metro Vancouver also closed, his craft remains high and dry atop its trailer in his driveway.
It’s puzzling, Knight said, because of the repeated recommendations by the province’s chief medical officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry, for people to spend time outside as risk of transmission of the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is minimal and the fresh air and sunshine are good for the mental health of a population otherwise being told to stay home.
“We are being dangled this carrot in front of us that we can’t access,” Knight said of Port Moody’s residents-only policy for its boat ramp.
But Mayor Rob Vagramov said the residential restriction will remain at the boat ramp for now, as the city continues to monitor its use, especially with temperatures warming up.
Port Moody city manager Tim Savoie said that since the ramp reopened on April 19, “demand has been medium to low,” with several reservation spots left unfilled. But, he added, April is typically a slower month and bookings are likely to pick up as the weather improves and days get longer.
Aside from being restricted to a maximum of 30 Port Moody residents and pass holders a day with advance reservations, only two boats can be launched from the ramp that can hold up to three at a time, and they must launch between 8 a.m. and noon, returning between 4 and 8 p.m.
Savoie said the busiest day was the first day of the ramp’s reopening, when 16 times were booked, and on April 23, only one boat hit the water.
Knight said those low numbers are particularly irksome, especially as the risk of contravening physical distancing edicts is so minimal at the ramp, and non-existent once on the water.
“It’s safer for me to do that than going for a walk,” he said. “It feels like I’m in a game of Frogger when I go for a walk.”
Vagramov said he’s open to taking another look at the boat ramp restrictions, especially as Henry continues to discuss the relaxation of provincial guidelines.
“I personally do not see the harm in expanding service availability if we are able to do so safely,” Vagramov said.
