By Dori Modney

Temporary Inconvenience for $100 Million in Waterton Upgrades

Jan 18, 2016 | 12:28 PM

WATERTON LAKES PARK:  An unprecedented federal financial investment in the National Parks system, will see almost $100 Million tagged for upgrades and redevelopment Waterton Lakes Parks over the next five years.

About $24-Million of that will be used to rejuvenate the Cameron Lake day use area, one of the most visited areas in the park.

Doreen McGillis, the External Relations Manager at Waterton says it will mean the closure of the area this summer to accommodate the extensive work, “It will include replacing all the facilities at the Cameron Lake day use area – so, the washrooms, the concession buildings, the docks, just the general landscape by the lake shore, the parking area, trail access and interpretive nodes.”

According to Wateron Park information, the Cameron Lake Day Use Area sees 70% of park visitors travel along the Akamina Parkway and many stop at Cameron Lake.

Unfortunately, the scope fo the upgrades, will mean the area needs to be closed to tourist for safety reasons. However, McGill the work is much needed as the infrastructure is very old, “This is an opportunity for us, with this unprecedented amount of funding, to revamp our visitor experience offer, and improve safety – it’s going to be short-term pain for long-term gain.”

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The Cameron Day use area will likely be closed by April or May, depending on weather allowing work crews into the site.

In the meantime, preparation work will begin on expanding the parking lot. Parking stalls will be increased from 80 to 126. To accommodate the extra space, crews will begin next week to remove trees from an area in the centre of the current parking site. That work will take place from Monday through Thursday from 7:00 -am until 5:30.

While this work is underway, visitors will still be able to access the lake front, with work areas clearly marked, and cross-country ski tracks will be maintained along the Parkway from the Little Prairie day use area.

The increased parking is being added to reduce environmental damage created by vehicles parked on the edge of roadways. Increased use in the past years has prompted visitors to park in areas where they should not, which creates more damage. The construction will also be done in a manner that reduces storm water into sensitive areas.

After the trees are removed and the snow has melted and ground thawed, the entire length of the Akamina Parkway will be resurfaced, and trailheads will be reconfigured, in order to handle the numbers of visitors which now approach almost 500,000 a year.

Resurfacing of the Parkway will mean closure of the roadway to allow for heavy construction. Since area trails will remain open, the park is alleviate public risk with a shuttle service to the trail heads.