One of Sooke’s waterfront viewpoints has been closed to the public due to safety concerns.
The Sooke Bluffs staircase, located at 7218 Austins Pl., will be closed until further notice due to its rapidly declining condition. This comes after a recent assessment by the Municipal Insurance Association of B.C., which found the staircase to be at a ‘high risk’ rating.
Although basic repairs have been done in the past few years, the 18-year-old wooden staircase has continued to rot. According to a release, repairs are impractical after the rot has spread to the handrails and stringers.
There aren’t any detours available to access the secluded area, but the loop trail that connects Austins and Bethany places is still open.
Notably, the District of Sooke didn’t include the replacement of the staircase in their 2020 financial plan due to a ‘moderate risk’ rating at the time of their decision.
The district will consider replacing the staircase when the 2021 budget is developed later this fall.
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