Lawrencetown surfers push for parking in road realignment

Lawrencetown, the biggest surfing hotspot on the East Coast, is set for a major road upgrade, but access concerns are looming as construction on Highway 207’s realignment is set to begin later this year.

The highway realignment, designed to mitigate storm surges, sea level rise and erosion, will shift the road a few hundred metres inland.

While long-term plans propose repurposing the old highway for recreational use, draft designs show the realignment will cut off access to two key parking lots near the headland — a vital entry point for surfers and beachgoers alike.

“My immediate focus and treaty to the government is to please preserve access to those two parking areas at the very least as you start construction,” Vic Ruzgys said.

Ruzgys is chair of the Surfing Association of Nova Scotia’s (SANS) coastal access committee and has been surfing in the area for four decades.

“This impacts the entire community, the tourism industry, and anybody who uses the beach and enjoys the outdoors,” he said.

“If we don’t speak up to do something, we’re going to lose complete access to the headland. We have these two parking areas, the first is the main, what’s called the surfers’ parking lot at the foot of the headland, which gives access to the point break at the headland. Then there’s the little parking lot at the top of the headland that gives access to the grassy area and the cliff itself,” he said, where people generally enjoy the great outdoors.

Losing the second lot at the top of the headland would limit access to MacDonald House, he said. MacDonald House is a community hub, home to a café, surf shop and local business.

Ruzgys has urged Eastern Shore MLA Kent Smith to ensure the Department of Transportation maintains parking access throughout the realignment and continues working with SANS.

In the long term, the Headland Project Group, led by SANS, envisions transforming the land south of the new highway into a recreational area with expanded parking, washrooms and a scenic lookout over Lawrencetown Beach, Ruzgys said.

“I’m fully in support of Vic’s plans to enhance Lawrencetown Beach,” said Smith, who is the province’s fisheries minister. He said he is advocating at the cabinet level to ensure surplus land is repurposed appropriately for Lawrencetown Beach.

In an email to Smith, Ruzgys proposed converting the existing Highway 207 roadway into a multi-use path. A study by the Atlantic View Trail Association, conducted in 2022, found that repurposing existing infrastructure would be more cost-effective and environmentally sustainable than building a new trail.

District 2 Coun. David Hendsbee, who initiated the request for the highway realignment in 2019, also supports repurposing the old road.

“I say we should leave the old section of Highway 207 there,” Hendsbee said in an interview. “Use it as a parking lot buffer for surfers, as well as anybody who wants to use the trail system.”

While the vision for Lawrencetown’s future is promising, “the immediate concern is preserving what we have right now,” Ruzgys said. Keeping access to parking during construction will ensure surfers, beachgoers and businesses don’t lose out while the highway realignment moves forward.