Anyone who has driven up to Marmot Basin over the past year has likely grumbled at least once about the poor state of the road.
Over the past 12 months the road has gone from bad to worse, raising serious questions about whether it will survive another season of freezing and thawing.
For the unacquainted, the particular section of road that is causing drivers grief is located just past the Portal Creek parking lot.
Over the past year the 250-metre section has buckled in several spots creating large enough bumps that drivers have to slow down or risk damaging their vehicles.
In fact, the road is in such poor condition Marmot Basin has raised its concerns with Parks Canada, which has promised to provide a temporary fix by the end of October to get the company through the winter.
The problem is Parks Canada has refused to publicly provide a firm date about when the road will be fixed, throwing into question whether it will be fixed in time for the ski season.
For Marmot Basin, the road is the company’s lifeline, without it the company would be unable to operate and the ski season would come to a grinding halt.
With so many infrastructure dollars pouring into the park, it’s a wonder how fixing the road was not a priority this summer given the fact that Marmot Basin is the town’s primary attraction in the winter.
According to Marmot Basin, Parks Canada has promised to temporarily fix the road by the end of the month just in time for Marmot’s anticipated opening day on Nov. 11.
The temporary fix is expected to ensure the road survives the winter, buying Parks Canada more time to find a permanent solution next year.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like Parks Canada is on the same page.
In it’s typical bureaucratic response to the Fitzhugh’s request for more information Parks Canada stated it was aware of the issues on Marmot Road and is currently in the planning phase to determine the best course of action.
What the agency failed to answer was when the road would be fixed.
By neglecting to provide a firm date Parks Canada has left the door open that the road might not be fixed before the snow flies, possibly putting Marmot’s season in jeopardy in the event the road fails this winter.
While we hate to speculate about the “what ifs,” in this case there are too many people’s livelihoods at stake for Parks Canada to be wishy-washy about the issue.
We urge Parks to publicly state when it intends to repair the road to reassure the public that Marmot Basin will be able to operate at full capacity this winter.
