Rocks or dock at rail trail?

Photo: Myles McGovern

This rockface looming over the Okanagan Rail Trail is privately owned.

The owners of a private dock on Kalamalka Lake are confused by safety priorities on the Okanagan Rail Trail.

The province has sent a letter to the owners ordering them to remove the dock by the end of the year, because it's on the lake side of the Okanagan Rail Trail and is believed to be a safety issue.

Used by the residents of four adjoining properties perched 120 feet above the trail on High Ridge Road, the dock's licence was not renewed when it came due, after North Okanagan Regional District directors refused to support the application.

“Why wouldn't you just grandfather these and move on?” asked Myles McGovern, one of the dock's owners.

The owners pay taxes on the dock and hold millions of dollars in liability insurance.

Now they are hoping for a little give and take.

Their land sits atop a dramatic rockface that looms over the trail and they own it.

Rock scaling work has taken place to ensure the trail is safe for hikers and bikers, but workers couldn't touch that wall.

Recently, local politicians have expressed some concern over the possibility of rock fall.

McGovern said he has already offered to give access to the huge wall of rock but now he's hoping to use it as a bargaining chip in an effort to keep the dock.

“We have no problem with granting access but we still haven't received an agreement,” McGovern said, expressing hope his offer will act as an opening for some regional support for the dock.

“The whole spirit of the rail trail was to work with property owners. I haven't received a single piece of correspondence from them ever.”