EDITOR,
Squamish is a potential gem set among some of the best views in the world. Sometime in the future it will be a destination resort as desired as Whistler. The proposed gondola is a must for Squamish. We need good solid tourist projects like this one. Newspapers have printed mostly the anti side of the issue.
Garibaldi Highlands, part of the District of Squamish, is doing well.Downtown Squamish is dowdy. This town is mired in the past and former logging glory. The woods around the town are full of rusty old logging relics and the quantity of decaying houses and garbage is legion. The ocean frontage is a mess. We could have a working clone of Granville Island here but that is 30 years away, given the pace of development. The Adventure Centre, touted as a focus of marketing our adventure activities to the rest of the world, has turned into a glorified tourist booth with gift shop and coffee bar. There are few jobs going. The Royal Hudson used to bring in tourists. Not anymore. The Test of Metal and other events help our economy. Most people commute to Whistler or Vancouver for work. Young families are moving in, however, because of the reasonably affordable townhouse/condo prices. After a recent poll, it was found 80 per cent of the town supports the project. There are many tourist towns like Banff, Jasper and some in Italy and Switzerland where a gondola has greatly helped the community, both economically and in reputation.
The hypocrisy of the anti-gondola set, many of whom ski in Whistler, astounds me. Whistler Blackcomb commandeered two whole mountains and put in who-knows-how many kilometers of gondolas, chairlifts and even the Peak to Peak, the longest gondola on the planet. No one mentions environmental shock in that exalted and trendy town. Here is poor little Squamish, with a proposed one-kilometre lift, trying to raise its head from economic doldrums and people (mostly no-residents) shouting and squealing about environmental impact.
Many people are not able to climb the Chief. Are they to be denied the glorious views of Howe Sound? The fit brigade are hogging the court.
Is reclassifying a tiny slice of park for the good of everyone (but admittedly for profit) such a big deal? I know Trevor Dunn, the force behind the gondola, so to speak, to be a man of integrity and intelligence,having been his teacher when he studied Science10 20 years ago. The future starts here and now. Let's get this show on the road.
Dr. Peter Austen
Garibaldi Highlands
