Council has refused to endorse the final draft of the Downtown Squamish 2031 Transport Plan because of uncertainty regarding the potential of a future crossing of the Mamquam Blind Channel at Westminster Street.
Council voted on a motion to endorse the transport plan during a committee of the whole meeting Tuesday (May 26), but the motion failed with councillors Doug Race, Corinne Lonsdale and Rob Kirkham voting no. Councillors Bryan Raiser and Patricia Heintzman were absent.
The 2031 population is expected to increase from 14,950 to about 33,100. According to a staff report, the Westminster Street crossing is expected to cost about $24.7 million. But no one actually knows if a second crossing will be needed.
The transport plan already includes the construction of a Mamquam Blind Channel crossing at Pemberton Avenue.
According to the draft plan, if Squamish does nothing and continues as is, two bridges will be needed because in 2031 the community will be a "bedroom community" for Vancouver.
But according to the transport plan, the fate of Squamish is not set in stone. It includes several sustainability measures such as the goal of generating 11,700 locally based jobs intended to reduce traffic in the downtown. The transportation plan also aims to reduce the number of cars on the road by 17 per cent in 2031.
If the targets are reached, Squamish will need one bridge by 2031 at Pemberton Avenue, making the Westminster crossing unnecessary.
If the Westminster crossing is needed, its construction will not be easy. In order to build, necessary permissions must be obtained from Squamish Nation, and the bridge could impact future development on the west side lands because right of ways would need to be protected.
The uncertainty gave Race second thoughts about moving the final draft forward.
"The difficulty I have is what this does to the Oceanfront Peninsula. It's not an insignificant issue to me," Race said. "At some point we have to decide if there is going to be a bridge or not."
Even if Squamish meets sustainability targets, Mayor Greg Gardner raised more concerns.
"Will the single bridge be at capacity even if we hit the targets?" Gardner said. "Is it prudent for us to maintain the Westminster right-of-way as a potential crossing in the future?"
Staff must now provide clarity on the issue of the Westminster Crossing and bring the final draft before council at a future meeting.
Film Commission advises flexibility
Squamish has been the backdrop for major motion pictures such as X-Files, Walking Tall and Insomnia. The community is part of Hollywood North, which garnered more than $2.1 billion in 2008.
Gordon Hardwick, manager of community affairs for the B.C. Film Commission, said in a presentation to council that B.C. strives to be the best value for a producer's dollar in tough economic times, but municipalities have to be flexible.
"Film production will not thrive without the support of local government," Hardwick said.
Hardwick recommended that municipalities such as Squamish deal with each film project on a case-by-case basis rather than create restricting bylaws and expensive temporary use permits.
"We have no control what municipalities do but we can raise awareness that if things get to costly, our clients will do a cost benefit analysis and move on. We can price ourselves out of business if we get too greedy," Hardwick said.
Thirty years ago, B.C. was cutting edge, but now Hardwick said 300 film commissions around the world are vying for the same business. He said it's time to get proactive.
Hardwick said Squamish is not competing against the Lower Mainland but other locations such as New Zealand and Africa. He said the key is being attractive.
"Film crews want a timely decision on what will work for your community and they don't like to be in the press. Your downtown main street is one of the most attractive in terms of portraying Middle America so the support of the business community is important."
Robin Arthurs, acting chief administrator for the district, said Squamish has tried very hard to be proactive - hiring photographers to take shots of good locations.
"Just keep a good sense of what you have and don't say no too often because word gets around," Hardwick said.
