Squamish is booming, and there is no better proof than to look at Government Road.
When I first moved to Squamish ‘lo these many years ago, Government Road was the back road locals took to avoid all the traffic on the highway headed to and from Whistler. Across from the Viking Ridge townhomes on Government Road was once a huge pasture with horses grazing, and a farmhouse and barn set way back. It’s now a sprawling townhome complex called Amblepath. And, it’s still the road kids walk daily to get to Don Ross Middle School or Mamquam Elementary. It’s a well-used artery in Squamish’s traffic system, but unfortunately it is really starting to get clogged.
At certain times of day, it takes almost forever to pull your car out of Viking Ridge onto Government, or to turn onto it when coming from the highway via Mamquam Road. Whereas once there would be a vehicle every few minutes, now there seems to be an almost constant flow of traffic. I think it’s still the preferred route for many locals hoping to stay away from the lights and traffic on the Sea to Sky Highway, however, as Squamish’s density and notoriety soars, so too does the amount of use that road is getting.
It’s not just traffic either, but also parking that is becoming a problem. I mean, can someone tell me why Government Road, especially right by the tracks near Amblepath, has become an impromptu RV park? All summer long there were little Boler trailers and campers of all sorts parked for weeks at a time. Currently there are three big RVs that have taken up residence on the curb.
After the CIBC bank and Tim Hortons were installed on Government Road at Garibaldi Way, a three-way stop was put in place to manage all the new vehicle traffic coming and going from that particular spot. Anyone who lives in that area will attest that it was sorely needed, and has certainly taken the bite out of what would be a problematic snarl at times. But, other places along that road are now getting as bad, and need to be examined, for the sake of locals who drive along or live along Government Road, and also for the safety of all those school kids who walk or bike it every day.
And that’s just one road that’s beginning to see problems from the increase in density.
Don’t get me wrong. I love that Squamish has grown, and is a “hot” place to both live and visit. But, as we grow, somebody needs to be re-evaluating our roads, parking and all their uses, before our boom permanently busts how we get around.
