The City of Delta late Friday afternoon announced that the stairway at Fred Gingell Park in Tsawwassen is open again to the public, but the public is being reminded to respect social distancing.
The stairs were closed for over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, drawing the ire of many locals.
In 2004, Delta approved the construction of the stairs leading from Fred Gingell Park on English Bluff Road to Tsawwassen Beach below.
Prior to that, an association of beach access advocates access complained that the city was in violation of provincial legislation by not providing a public throughway to the water.
The western edge of Tsawwassen over the previous years had been allowed to develop without providing pathways from the top of the bluff, leaving only a few homeowners private access to the public beach.
Some had even advertised their homes for sale as having a private beach.
Threatened with a lawsuit, the city admitted it never had the authority to waive a statute under the Provincial Land Act requiring access to the water and never got a waiver from the minister of highways.
Council eventually agreed to secure an occupation lease with B.C. Hydro for the right-of-way and spending $400,000 on stairway plan.
