Campbell River city council has voted in favour of installing two billboards, expressing their support of the aquaculture and forestry industries.
According to city manager Deborah Sargent, one of the billboards will be installed in north Campbell River at 4000 Island Highway, near the Norm Wood Environmental Centre. Another is set for the south end of town, at the northeast corner of Dogwood Street and Hilchey Road.
Sargent says it should take around three to four weeks to get the billboards designed, constructed, and installed. Funding will come from council contingency, and each sign should be around 8 x 16-feet in size.
The original plan was to install three billboards beside existing city entrance signs — Jubilee/19A, north Campbell River on Highway 19, and south of the airport on Highway 19 — but Sargent says that idea was scrapped.
“Unfortunately, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure will not permit billboard signage on their roadside, so we provided some alternative locations on City property within the city,” she explains.
Sargent says staff is now checking in with the local Tourism Advisory Committee. They hope to gauge whether the committee would like to be part of the signage, or if they’d rather the messaging stay specific to the forestry and aquaculture industries.
However, in a June 21st letter to council, Paul Dowler, chair of the committee, said they feel the use of these signs could be ‘very detrimental’ to the local tourism industry.
“The Campbell River tourism industry services a broad spectrum of customers from all over the world,” Dowler wrote. “They all have one thing in common: a love for clean air, forest, ocean, and wildlife. While we may all realize that forestry and aquaculture are important components of our economy, unfortunately, many visitors do not support these industries.”
A June 8th city report noted aquaculture and forestry as two key industries in Campbell River. Because it was found both faced challenges last year, a volunteer business recovery taskforce group outlined ways the City could support the industries. Billboards were listed as an effective way to show support, capturing commuters’ attention.
In addition, the City’s campaign could roll out virtually: “Council discussed the importance of a social media campaign. Our economic development office is looking at that. That media campaign would be in support of aquaculture and forestry,” adds Sargent.
