Encampment at Abbotsford rest area shut down by province

Washrooms have been closed and power has been cut at an Abbotsford rest stop where people have been living in RVs. But not everyone has left.

The Cole Road rest area just off Highway 1 in Abbotsford is jammed with RVs.

They are not owned by travellers passing through; rather, by people who’ve made the place their home. Some have been there for years.

But now, the encampment has been shut down by the province.

“They came in with no notice, no communication, nothing whatsoever. They came in, they locked down the bathrooms, turned off the fresh water,” explained Mike Winbow, who said he’s been living in the encampment on and off since the summer of 2020.

There is no longer power at the location, and the sanidump has also been closed.

Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth said action was needed.

“What’s been taking place has been unacceptable. It was decided that the best thing to do was actually to shut the site down, and that means the decommissioning of services,” Farnworth said.

Farnworth said the rest stop has been the source of significant complaints, as well as concerns from police, who say they’ve been called to the site 72 times just this year.

“Those calls for service range from assistance calls to fires to violent crime to arresting people on warrants and various property and drug crime as well,” said Abbotsford police Sgt. Paul Walker.

Police acknowledge that some of those living at the rest area are not involved in any criminal activity.

Advocates for the homeless told CTV News that some of the campers are seniors or people with illnesses and disabilities who simply have nowhere else to go.

“There’s been genuine people living here for years that are not drug addicts, they’re seniors that can’t afford to pay rent anymore, or can’t find a place, or can’t find a place to park their trailer,” explained Joseph Sekora of Ground Zero Ministries.

“We even have one guy living here that has MS. He needs the services here, needs the bathroom.”

Sekora added that campers should have been given notice of the closure.

Camper Darren Heath said crime has not been an issue

“Ever since the few people here doing it, they left, it’s been quiet,” he said. “Peaceful.”

Heath, who receives a disability benefit, said he lived in a rental until 2021, when his rent became too expensive.

“I’ve got nowhere else I can park this for the winter,” he said, referencing his RV.

Other campers also said they have no other housing options.

“It’s despicable. It’s absolutely unjust. Not good, not good,” said 70-year-old camper Karl Peters.

The City of Abbotsford said while the Ministry of Transportation and Transit advised them it wanted to close Cole Road rest area in the future, a specific timeline was not provided. The city said it also was not “made aware that services (washrooms, garbage removal, etc.) would be discontinued for individuals residing at Cole Road rest area.”

“We support provincial and community best practices that give notice to all individuals and support agencies when people are required to move from encampments and we are disappointed that this did not happen in this case,” the city said in a statement.

The city said there were 654 homeless people identified in Abbotsford at last count.

“While the province has committed to opening approximately 90 extreme-weather and seasonal shelter beds this winter, only 13 of those beds are currently open each night — and they serve women only — leaving a significant gap in available options, particularly following the cancellation of services at Cole Road,” the statement from Abbotsford said.

Meanwhile, Winbow said at this point, he has no plans to leave Cole Road, adding that he has nowhere to go.

He called the province’s actions “cruel.”

“Extremely cruel. There’s a lot of people in this situation who are vulnerable,” he said.

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