Although many on the Island support an alternative to the Malahat, a local group thinks it would do more harm than good
J. Ocean Dennie, founder of the Facebook group Friends of the Sooke Hills Wilderness, believes the government is using Malahat closures as an excuse to run a highway through the CRD protected Sooke Hills Wilderness Region Park via Goldstream Heights.
He believes that if a new road is established, it will lead to a slippery slope that will devastate the wilderness.
"All of these actions continue to encourage development creep. So if you punch one road that would only be used during emergencies, then the next ask is 'Oh, can we open this full time?' And then the next ask is 'Oh, can we punch a few roads off of that?'"
He does agree that Malahat tie-ups are a nuisance, but shouldn't be used as an excuse to encroach on the wilderness.
"This is a problem, but this problem shouldn't be used as a scapegoat for destroying more wilderness, especially in this time of climate catastrophe and climate crisis. We can;t be chewing into more wilderness parkland. This forest is a carbon sink, we're striving for carbon neutrality here, we can't continue to engage in this foolishness anymore."
Dennie adds that there is already an alternative route, the Pacific Marine road that connects Port Renfrew to Cowichan lake.
He does acknowledge that route takes a few extra hours, but says it's better than spending millions of dollars cutting through the forest to establish a new highway.