Living in a trailer, parked alongside a busy road might not seem like a place someone would call home, but for Glenn Edgeworth, it’s exactly that.
“It's the closest I've had to a home since I lost my apartment,” he says about life on Goldstream Avenue.
But after over a year ‘semi-permanently’ parked on the stretch of road between Vantilburg Crescent and the Colwood border, Edgeworth is now facing losing his ‘home’ again.
On Sunday (June 22), the 61-year-old found a notice from the City of Langford on his windscreen informing him that because of upcoming remediation work, no parking will be allowed from June 30 to July 14 on the boulevard, between the 400 and 500 block of Goldstream Avenue.
“New parking restrictions will be implemented and enforced once the remediation work has been completed,” says the city’s notice.
A city spokesperson has confirmed the new restrictions will no longer allow recreational vehicles to park in the area.
The news has come as a huge blow to Edgeworth.
Living with stage four prostate cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, emphysema and unable to work, Edgeworth says life on Goldstream Avenue has helped him find some stability.
This is despite having to move his vehicle every three days because of Langford’s current traffic bylaw, which does not allow vehicles to park continuously on any street for a period over 72 hours.
"I feel like I'm being forced out of my own hometown,” he said. "I’m stunned … it’s devastating ... and my mom (in View Royal) is in really bad shape right now – it's the main reason I'm sticking around."
And Edgeworth is not the only one affected.
In recent years, the Langford stretch of Goldstream Avenue has seen a steady stream of recreational vehicles use the road as a place to stay. For some, it’s a temporary stop-gap; for others like Edgeworth, it’s a more permanent housing solution.
It’s an issue that has created controversy in the neighbourhood, with some residents calling for the city to take action on what they describe as an “eyesore.”
“These people have been abusing this area for too long,” one resident told the Goldstream Gazette in January 2024.
The incoming parking restrictions imply the city has listened.
"Everyone deserves access to safe shelter, hygiene facilities and a sense of stability," said a statement from a city spokesperson. "Living in a recreational vehicle on the side of the road is none of these. Rather, it reflects the failure of a broader system to meet the needs of some of our most vulnerable community members.
"The city does not take this situation or the decisions regarding any type of enforcement that impacts those who are unhoused lightly."
But while sympathetic to the "incredibly difficult circumstances" faced by Langford's RV community, the city says it is responding to "an increasing number of complaints from nearby residents regarding deteriorating conditions along parts of Goldstream Avenue."
“Including the deposit of human waste, garbage accumulation, noise disturbances and an increasing number of recreational vehicles coming from other municipalities,” said the spokesperson.
“These concerns must be addressed in a way that balances public health and safety with compassion and care for those in need.”
Edgeworth is puzzled by the list of complaints. “I've never seen it for myself,” he says.
“My friend Jason and I sit here, we have dinner, a couple of beers, and we play a couple of games of Monopoly or Scrabble – that's the big party they're complaining about.
"Something I won't be able to do now, because we won't be able to park here."
As a show of support to Edgeworth and his neighbours, the city has said it will provide information about “more suitable alternate locations,” including the Goldstream Provincial Park campground, Island View Beach and Fort Victoria RV parks.
They have also offered to help connect folks with housing service partners to “help transition them into a more sustainable housing situation.”
Edgeworth says the alternative locations suggested by the city are beyond his means and impractical.
Goldstream and Island View Beach only allow for a maximum stay of 14 days per calendar year.
“And I couldn't afford to go and live at Fort Victoria because that would use up almost my entire check,” says Edgeworth. “I’d have like 200 bucks left to pay bills with, and my bills are more than that.”
His ideal solution would be for the city to provide somewhere for them to park.
"We don't need sani-dumps and electricity or anything," he says. "We just need a place where we can park and not have to move every three days."
But for now, Edgeworth says his only option is to try his luck at places like Hamsterly Beach in Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park or park along Humpback Road.
“Until they kick us out of there, because everybody from here's got no other option except for going out there,” he says.
