I guess some people were naive enough to think a transportation solution to Vancouver was anything more than election hype.
Think about it – we have, on a good day, maybe 18,000 people here. Voters are probably about a third of that. A transit solution is probably about $130 per vote. A Fraser Valley investment of about the same money would be about $3 per vote.
Of the eligible voters in Squamish, how many do you really think this is a motherhood issue? We don’t even have an MLA who represents the same party as the governing party. Give your head a shake.
Our mayor is quoted as saying she supports a high-speed passenger train – yes, my little grasshopper the sun is hot. The train between Toronto and Montreal is not fast enough – an improvement there is much, much more likely. I think we will just have to put up with a more congested highway as we let growth control us.
On another topic, columnist Helmut Manzl says (July 20, page 11) that, according to the mission statement of the District of Squamish Official Community Plan, “By carefully and thoughtfully managing growth, we can accommodate long-term growth while meeting our livability and climate goals.” The mission statement might say managed growth but, really, words are easy – the practice requires more skill. We must judge by effects and not intentions (for example, the downtown parking issue). Well managed this is not, and this will only get worse, not better. The result of this developer-fuelled growth is evident to everyone besides this council and developers. The good news is throughout history, meaningful change always starts from the bottom; it’s never a top-down scenario.
On another note, I see The Chief is moving to a more recyclable product (Aug. 3, page 10) – this is great. As a society (mostly in the West), we use 125 per cent of the Earth’s resources to prosper. Any investor knows you can’t keep using your capital. This is a very short-term vision, akin burning the furniture to heat your house. I applaud any effort to make something more sustainable.
