Fondo in hot seat
The organizer of RBC Gran Fondo Whistler was in the council chamber hot seat at the local government’s meeting Tuesday night.
Neil McKinnon, creator of Gran Fondo Canada, went before council with a presentation about the upcoming event that sees thousands of cyclists race up the Sea to Sky Highway, through Squamish, to Whistler.
This year’s event is scheduled for Sept. 9.
McKinnon faced some chastising from councillors regarding how the event negatively impacts Squamish.
Coun. Ted Prior pointed out that the promotional video shown by McKinnon in the presentation highlights Whistler and RBC a few times, but does not highlight Squamish.
Coun. Susan Chapelle said that with a large sponsor like RBC, the community should see some sort of financial benefit.
For his part, McKinnon said that things are currently challenging for events and added events like Fondo, which have a corporate sponsor, are “targets” for requests.
He added that the iRide program, that aims to get local kids out on their bikes, is a contribution to Squamish.
This year the iRide Jam will see 60 young participants work with a riding coach on Sept. 9.
The shorter Medio race that is part of the larger event also starts at Glenalder Place in Squamish.
Mayor Patricia Heintzman said that the Brackendale Fall Fair, in particular, has been negatively impacted by the Fondo. The fair is volunteer run and a family-friendly affair that has been a part of the community for more than 50 years, she noted. The Gran Fondo causes traffic issues and prevents some residents from attending the fair until later in the afternoon, if at all, she said.
Heintzman said perhaps the Fondo organizers should consider that the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District board recently voted against supporting the Ironman Canada event after 2017 and the Village of Pemberton voted to not support the event’s renewal.
Ultimately, council passed a motion of support for Gran Fondo Whistler with the condition that the event provide approximately $2,500 in traffic control for Government Road during the period of the Brackendale Fall Fair. Coun. Jason Blackman-Wulff opposed the motion.
Vaping in Squamish
Smoking and vaping may soon be on equal footing in Squamish.
Council passed the first three readings of amendments to its smoking bylaw on Tuesday night.
The proposed changes to the bylaw mean that electronic cigarettes and vaping will be restricted in the same way cigarette smoke is within the district.
The distance from where individuals are able to smoke or vape increases from three to seven metres and District signs about smoking will also include vaping.
The changes bring the district in line with provincial legislation, according to District staff.
Pemberton Ave. bridge
District staff are beginning work on a plan for a bridge over Pemberton Avenue that will likely be drafted by June of 2018.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has said a condition of its approval for the Waterfront Landing project is that a plan for a new bridge has to be complete within a year.
A plan for the bridge was not scheduled to be drafted this early.
A District-commissioned transit study recently found the Waterfront Landing’s residents would only account for 20 per cent of future traffic over the bridge.
The District therefore sees the bridge as necessary eventually for the entire community given growth, not directly because of the Waterfront Landing project.
District staff will come back to council with bridge funding options as the process develops. The Waterfront Landing residential housing and commercial community has so far passed first and second readings. A public hearing for Waterfront Landing is set for July 11 at 6 p.m. at the Squamish Seniors Centre.
Enhanced bus service
More hours of service and new buses are being added to Squamish transit service this year.
Five new buses and an additional 58 hours of transit service are being added by the end of summer.
Four of the new buses are going to replace decommissioned buses.
The new buses will have closed circuit TV cameras, which are aimed at increasing passenger and driver safety, according to a BC transit news release.
The extra hours will help with sticking to scheduled times given increasing congestion, according to BC Transit.
The additions were discussed at the community development and standing committee on Tuesday.
Transit in Squamish is provided by BC Transit through PW Transit, the local operating company, and the District of Squamish.
As part of proposed expansion initiatives there is a three-year expansion memorandum of understanding between the District and BC Transit, a seasonal service to provincial parks in southern Squamish to be introduced in 2018/2019 and one new bus added each of the three years starting in 2019. Service to Quest University will be ramped up in 2018/2019. A new Handy Dart vehicle will be added in April 2018.
Regional transit is now a separate process and will be discussed in a report to council in the fall, according to a District report.
Council still has to ratify the plans after which time District staff will work with BC Transit and PWTransit to manage and operate the Squamish bus service.
Water main replacement
North Vancouver’s Gravity Construction has been awarded an almost $1.2 million tender for water main replacement projects in Squamish in 2017.
The work will include replacement of a water main on Government Road.
The District has received grants that will cover much of the water main replacement work scheduled for this year, according to a staff report.
