Squamish residents will be able to travel freely on the Sea to Sky Highway during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, VANOC director of community relations Maureen Douglas told a group of about 100 residents assembled at Quest University on Monday (Sept. 22). "There will be essentially a free flow of cars of Sea to Sky constituents during Games times. At this point, we don't see any need for definitive restrictions, we don't see a definitive need for permitting," she said. The information may have struck some as good news, but Squamish Mayor Ian Sutherland, who said he was not invited to VANOC's "Game Plan" meeting, was nonetheless scathingly critical of the organization in a front-page story in the Vancouver Province the following morning. He and council members were in Penticton at the annual Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) meeting on Monday."There have been good initiatives that for various reasons haven't worked, we accept that," Sutherland told The Chief. "The challenge has been that there has been very few, if any, tangible moves made through the community and people around here are frustrated by that."But for some, nothing is good enough. Local resident Brent MacDonald commutes to Whistler while his wife commutes to Vancouver. He said having unrestricted access to the highway eased his main concern."My major concern was with transportation but it seems to be way better than expected with there being no real restriction on transportation - just parking," he said.However, commuters to Whistler who do not have pre-arranged parking spaces will have to take public transit. Douglas said the upshot has become a traditional Olympic legacy."We're really encouraging use of public transit because it's the most efficient way to get around and it's the fastest way to get anywhere," she said. "A really positive legacy of the Games has been converting single-car users into public transit ridership." But with no bus stop in Squamish, MacDonald told the Province newspaper this week, "there really is no benefit at all for Squamish"Douglas recommended that residents help reduce traffic on the highway by taking annual leave, carpooling or working from home. Although she recognized that for many Squamish residents, that was not an option. "It is certainly a bit more challenging in the Sea to Sky with so many of us working in some form of hospitality or hosting delivery or a service industry that really can't be in business during Games time," she said.Douglas also stressed that local workers and volunteers will play a crucial role in making the Games a success. "Not only do we need the passion and the knowledge and the experience of the people here in this corridor as volunteers, but we also need that same heart and soul in the workforce - the workforce that keeps the hotels ticking, the restaurants going, the snow-clearing - all the kinds of things that we have every day in the Sea to Sky that we will need to keep moving forward."Douglas recommended local businesses such as restaurants and hotels extend their opening hours and raise service levels as the estimated 55,000 people involved in putting on the Games will work long hours. "We are going to see peak occupancy in hotels - it's going to be full. And all of our communities don't experience true full all that often. Between the media, the work force, the security needs, the visitors that will come here, we are all going to be full. So being prepared for extended service levels and keeping that energy where it needs to meet the needs of all those guests is something we want to consider," Douglas said.While her presentation showed a blank overhead screen with a sheet titled Squamish Successes, Douglas was quick to point out this wasn't due to a lack of success stories. "Now this is funny. It's not actually blank, I've got it here, it's just not up there - there's too many to fit," she said.In an interview after the presentation, Douglas estimated more than 100 companies from the Squamish area have been awarded some form of contract or economic opportunity directly through VANOC and more will experience the spin-off.But Sutherland said the community is tired of local plans falling through. In the Province newspaper this week, Sutherland pointed to numerous failed or abandoned Squamish initiatives, saying "it is certainly not what we were led to believe a few years ago."VANOC representatives declined to comment on Sutherland's statements.Meanwhile, Squamish Chamber of Commerce president Margo Dent said she wants Squamish to start looking forward rather than backward. She said that while there may be plans that fell through, the community needs to focus on the positives."We don't have a bricks and mortar legacy, which is what everybody keeps complaining and crying about but we also don't have the $9-million tax bill that Whistler will have."Douglas said VANOC will return with community updates between April and June 2009, and again in the fall of 2009. "And at that point there will be printed information, day-to-day information on exact transportation schedules, event schedules, all of those things you need." Douglas also unveiled a new Olympic initiative: the Youth Participation Program. Past Games capped volunteer's ages to a minimum of 18, but now, people between the ages of 15 and 19 can officially volunteer for the Games. The program invites young residents in the Sea to Sky corridor to form groups of 10, plus an adult chaperone, to register for volunteer opportunities leading up to and during the 2010 Winter Games. The program has about 250 youth volunteer opportunities in the Sea to Sky corridor. For more information, go to vancouver2010.com.
