THE GUARDIAN
FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2006

Public Parking Planned for Tracadie Beach

Province investing $65,000 and negotiates land exchange to improve vehicle parking and access to one of PEI’s popular beaches.

The provincial government has announced plans to improve public safety and accessibility to the beach at Tracadie. Gail Shea, PEI’s minister of Transportation and Public Works, said Thursday that the beach is one of the most popular on the Island.

The Province will invest $65,000 to perform upgrades to the vehicle parking areas and improve beach access, Shea said. She said that due to the heavy use of the Tracadie beach area during the summer months and the lack of an off-road parking area at the location, beach users have historically parked along the sides of the road, often blocking the road to other traffic and emergency response vehicles.

To help facilitate the improvements to be made at Tracadie beach, the province has negotiated a land exchange agreement with adjacent landowners—Carrie MacNabb and Tim Banks—to secure a parking area for public use and safety reasons.

Shea says that without the co-operation received from the adjacent landowners the project would not have been able to proceed. Mildred Dover, the area MLA and minister of Education and attorney General, says making improvements to the beach area at Tracadie will help improve access to the popular location, particularly for emergency vehicles, providing improved public safety.

“This will certainly add to the quality experience one receives when frequenting the beach area at Tracadie,” said Dover. The project has received all required permits to proceed and the work is budgeted within the existing capital budget framework.