Editor’s note: Residents of Youbou expressed their disgust with logging trucks, during Youbou’s Wednesday, May 4, public meeting.
At issue was the dirt left behind by dirty trucks, which leads to dusty conditions once conditions dry up. The dangerous speed with which the trucks have been making their way through the community also come up as an issue.
The logging company provided the following statement to clear up what their efforts have been consisting of, thus far.
Dear residents of Youbou:
In early April, your Area Director Klaus Kuhn contacted our office with concerns about mud being carried through Youbou from the North Shore Road. Many of you know that TimberWest is a Vancouver Island-based company with employees and contractors who live and work around Youbou. We don’t like hearing complaints about our activities coming from our neighbors and have been committed for some weeks now to finding a solution to your concerns.
As much as we’d like otherwise, there is no easy solution to this problem.
TimberWest ownership of North Shore Road is not complete; there are some sections the Company does not own. And traffic on the road includes not only TimberWest contractors but numerous other industrial and recreational users as well.
That said, there are a number of things that TimberWest can, and will continue to do in response to your concerns.
In early April, our efforts were focused on road sweeping and clean-up. TimberWest worked with MainRoad Contracting to clean-up the road through town, and to cut back the build-up of silt and sediment that had accumulated along the roadside.
In addition, we completed grass seeding along the roadside to help stabilize those sediments and prevent them from becoming airborne. The clean-up effort has been intensive and we believe has improved road conditions.
We have also responded to concerns about traffic speed through Youbou. All industrial North Shore Road users have been notified, and TimberWest has been in contact with the Lake Cowichan RCMP to enlist their assistance. You may have noticed the electronic speed control signage which will continue to be utilized on a periodic basis.
On the issue of dust control, TimberWest completed application of a dust control product to a 1.5 km section of North Shore Road and this has proven to be very effective in minimizing dust.
The product can be reapplied if necessary (wet weather will minimize its effectiveness over time). We also plan to extend the application of the product further down North Shore Road as soon as weather and availability of contractors permits.
All of this to say that TimberWest has every intention of maintaining its focus on this issue. We will continue to work with Klaus Kuhn and local contractors to manage this to the best of our ability and in the meantime, we appreciate your patience and understanding of our efforts.
Sue Handel
TimberWest Forest Corp.