City seeking public review and feedback on draft lake safety bylaw
Chestermere Lake is a great place to boat, water ski, enjoy the beaches or fish. However, Council identified the need to further improve recreational safety and operational regulations on the lake.
Extensive community engagement was completed in 2018, and a follow-up pilot program consisting of lake safety initiatives was launched in 2019. The City is now moving to the next step of formalizing lake use safety regulations through the development of a new draft Lake Safety Bylaw and the City is seeking residents’ feedback prior to bringing it forward to Council for first reading.
“The engagement process for the Draft Lake Use Bylaw will give the public an opportunity to provide feedback on the entire bylaw or just the sections that are most relevant to the types of activities they engage in on the lake,” says Katelyn Richards, Community Recreation Coordinator.
Public input is important to make sure that the bylaw strikes the right balance between supporting recreational lake use while enabling the City to enforce public safety regulations on the water or lake surface all year round.
“Over the last two years we received excellent feedback from a variety of user groups, which formed the basis of the Recreation Lake Safety Plan. The City’s enforcement team also introduced a new boating safety decal program. Through these efforts we have learned that a shared understanding of boating etiquette and safety practices for a wide variety of recreational purposes will be beneficial to everyone. The intention behind the bylaw is to help clarify what this proper safety etiquette should be, and what preventative measures need to be in place in order to ultimately support a safer experience on the lake for everyone,” says Richards.
The engagement process will run from Nov. 20th – Dec.11th, 2020. To read the Draft Lake Use Bylaw and participate in the discussion, please visit www.chestermereconversations.ca
If you want to know more about this initiative, please contact the Parks and Recreation Team at krichards@chestermere.ca or (403) 207-2807.