The Squamish Trails Society (STS) distributed a survey to all 21 residents vying for mayor or council in an effort to determine how Squamish's electoral candidates prioritize trail and bike lane issues.The survey was organized independently from the Squamish Off Road Cycling Association (SORCA) all-candidates forum held last month. However, it is also a reaction to what some recreation groups see is a history of municipal neglect regarding trail and bike lane infrastructure. They survey was designed to bring general voter attention to candidates' attitudes on a vital community issue, said STS president Bob Brant."Both trails and bike lane infrastructure are needing a lot more attention and support from the district level," he said. "This is a community thing. It's not Trails Society, it's not SORCA. This is us doing what we feel needs to be done for the community to move ahead."Test of Metal Inc. president Cliff Miller helped organize the survey. He is concerned some politicians don't realize trails systems are just as important as soccer fields and recreation centres. "Trails are a very critical part of Squamish's lifestyle and a very neglected part of the Squamish lifestyle at the same time."While none of the three mayoral candidates responded to the survey, 13 of the 18 council candidates filled out the checklist marking how highly they rate various issues on a scale of one to 10. Larry McLennan, Ken Perry, Ron Bahm, Donna Billy and John McIllwraith did not respond. The "action items" touched on issues that are largely related and interwoven. One item was based on creating a district-wide Trails Master Plan with expenditure between $50,000 and $100,000 to enhance connectivity. Candidates were asked to rate the importance and achievability.Every candidate gave the plan a rating of seven or above for importance except Paul Lalli, who commented that he could not determine its importance until council is in the budget process and all priorities could be weighed.Meanwhile, Bryan Raiser gave every item a 10 rating of importance, and commented that he hopes they are all achievable."For almost 12 years I've been fighting for each and every thing on this entire list [] once I'm elected I'm certainly going to get to the bottom of these very important issues that are obviously dear to me heart," he writes.Patricia Heintzman rated the plan an 8 but commented that she would need to see justification regarding the amount allocated to determine the possibility of the plan. While $50,000 would be achievable, she believes a cost closer to $100,000 will be a "tough sell" to council, she said.
