LETTER: Hostage in our town

Editor’s note: This letter is for Mayor Patricia Heintzman and council, and was forwarded to The Chief for publication. 

Growth in Squamish is inevitable. It does, however, need to be done correctly with much thought and planning. There were two major applications for housing developments mentioned in the Squamish Chief newspaper this week that I understand have been years in the planning process. 

I am not going to talk about the developments or the population density of the aforementioned properties. What I do want to ask is how are residents, both new and old, going to get here? A total of 865 units for the Waterfront Landing proposal will generate at least 1,730 people just for the homes. It is quite possible that each of those homes will have two vehicles with residents who will need to drive to Vancouver to work, which is approximately 3,460 vehicles if each couple has a vehicle, and will certainly be more if there are more adults in the home who drive. 

The other proposed housing development at Garibaldi Springs proposes 334 townhouses or duplexes, plus 127 apartment units for a total of 461 new homes. Math isn’t one of my strong points, but if each of those units has two vehicles it is an additional 922 people that would probably need to drive to Vancouver for work. 

When I added the numbers together, again simple math, it is a total of 4,382 vehicles, give or take, that will need access to the Sea to Sky Highway on a regular basis. 

My figures don’t reflect the tourists who use our highway to get to their destination, only those who live in Squamish and the new people proposed, and does not include the new construction going on right now, with a population explosion in the next few months. 

I am one of those people who drive to Vancouver and home again, five days a week. During the last long weekend (May 24) it took me two hours and 19 minutes just to get home (northbound) on Saturday. 

I understand that the southbound traffic on Monday was been just as bad but I can’t speak on that because I stayed home. I followed with interest the postings on social media of other residents of Squamish who actually started out to go to Vancouver for planned activities and turned around and went home. 

I have lived here for a many years. Never have I felt so restrained in what I can do and be dictated by how busy the highway is as to where I go and what I do, and when. There was no mention of a new highway, or widening of the highway, (how ‘bout a designated locals-only lane?) or any type of transportation plan. 

With the proposed developments in the next few years, and in the future, we will need a six-lane highway (without narrowing or lights!) to keep the traffic moving. 

So my question to council is: How can we keep adding to our population without a plan for transportation included from the Ministry of Highways?