The Milner Gardens and Woodland annual Christmas Magic is a popular event in Qualicum Beach.
During the holiday season, the festive Christmas lights event draws a crowd coming from not only Qualicum Beach but also from surrounding areas and from out of town.
Organizers have raised concerns about public safety especially for visitors parking at both sides of the streets where the speed limit is 70 km/h and does not have sufficient street lights.
To mitigate any dangers, the organizers want a shuttle bus service provided during the term of the Christmas Magic event, which often runs for three weeks. Milner Gardens executive director Geoff Ball send a letter to the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) transit committee and also to the Town of Qualicum Beach seeking support for their request.
The plan is to have people park their vehicles at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre and get them to ride the shuttle bus to the event, a major fundraiser for Milner Gardens and Woodlands.
Mayor Teunis Westbroek made a motion at the committee meeting on Oct. 3 requesting staff provide a report including cost breakdown for provision of a shuttle bus service. He said the RDN has accommodated such services for special events in the past.
"This one in particular, where people come at night, obviously, and parked on both sides of the highway often, sometimes at inclement weather, and traffic safety and public safety is an issue," said Wesbroek, who also requested the staff report go straight to the RDN board instead of the transit committee for consideration due to time constraints.
Transit committee chair Stuart McLean supports the Milner Gardens request but indicated they must shoulder the cost of the shuttle service.
