A group of local volunteers is working to clean up the old Ladysmith train station.
The station sits behind the Waterfront Gallery along a path that connects the harbour to downtown. Lead organizer for the cleanup effort, Bill Drysdale, said that they wanted to create an appealing corridor for visitors to travel between the marina and Ladysmith.
“The building looked kind of run down, so we just painted the outside — painted over the graffiti. It makes it a more inviting walk up to town and back that’s less intimidating for our visitors,” Drysdale said.
Not only will the building be more inviting for visitors to Ladysmith, but Drysdale says that Ladysmith residents benefit from the new look as well. He said local dog walkers have expressed their gratitude to him and the volunteers for their efforts.
Several volunteers are working alongside Drysdale to clean up the old train station including: Dave Perry, Eric Arsenault, Row Dashwood, Arnie Bogwald, Alex Stuart, Chuck Forrest, and Greg Edwards. Jillian Dashwood provided coffee, donuts and muffins to the painters. Phil Kent delivered the paint.
Drysdale hopes the train station will be a future home to community groups. The Island Corridor Foundation, (ICF), which owns the station, also expressed their desire to see community groups housed in the station. Work to restore the building is ongoing.
“There’s not a lot of drywall damage, but there’s a lot of graffiti. Depending on the type of paint we get, we may be able to paint over that,” Drysdale said.
Once a community group is identified, Drysdale and the ICF will look at taking on larger restoration projects at the station.