Listen to this article
Dear 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated using text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.
Residents living at an RV rest stop in Abbotsford, British Columbia, say the province recently shut down the site’s bathrooms and other public services without notice, leaving them without water, electricity or a place to dump waste.
“Absolutely no notice. No notice about the hydro, no notice about the bathrooms closing – total lack of communication,” said Karl Peters, who has been living in his mobile home with his partner at the Cole Road rest stop off Highway 1 for almost five months.
Large orange signs in front of the rest stop and restrooms warn of the site’s closure, and its RV drop-off port is also closed. Some residents use gas generators to power their appliances.
“Not being able to get rid of waste, not being able to wash our hands, not being able to see in the dark, not having anywhere to evacuate… it’s brutally cruel,” Peters said.
Mike Farnworth, whose British Columbia Ministry of Transportation is in charge of highway rest stops, said it was necessary to cut off utilities because of ongoing complaints.
“When you constantly get complaints in terms of public safety, when a facility has been repaired and it’s vandalized literally the next day or a few days later, that can’t continue,” he said.
The city of Abbotsford said in an email that the province informed the city it would close the rest area as part of overall work to widen Highway 1, but did not provide timelines or inform the city it would suspend services at the site.
“The city supports provincial and community best practices that notify all individuals and support agencies when people are required to leave encampments, and we are disappointed that this did not happen in this case,” wrote Melissa Godbout, public relations officer for the city.
The rest stop is among a series of campgrounds created along Highway 1 in recent years and will soon close for good.
A Ministry of Transportation spokesperson added in a statement that the rest stop was removed from the provincial rest stop inventory in September.
Andrea Hoefner of the group Cedar Outreach said residents at the encampment “are there particularly because they really can’t afford housing right now, whether it’s on fixed income or disability or whatever.”
“A lot of people are scared right now,” the social worker said.
Farnworth said residents are not being evacuated yet, but at some point they will be told to move on.
“Those people are not being evicted. At some point, they will be moved and given two weeks’ notice to do so,” he said.
He said BC Housing is working to connect residents with shelters and other services.
