EDITOR,
As the debate around the proposed gondola through Stawamus Chief Provincial Park continues, I have been frustrated by the fact that most of the support for the project in Squamish seems to stem from economic reasons, prospective new jobs and the hoped-for ability to reroute some of the potential gondola users to other businesses in town. It seems that it is the perceived needed economic benefits that have created a base of support in Squamish, where as others outside of Squamish see the relevance of the broader environmental, social and recreational values of the park to British Columbians and the important wilderness buffer provided by the adjacent undeveloped lands of the proposed upper terminal.
But let's talk benefits to Squamish. Does our community vision really include the urban sprawl this gondola promises, coffee shops and lodges and retail outlets on top of a ridge surrounded by formerly intact protected areas and sprawling wilderness that already draw thousands of visitors each year? I left Vancouver six years ago because I wanted to get away from that type of commercialized recreation and I would argue many others come to Squamish to live and play for that same reason. Whistler and Vancouver both offer ample amusement park-style outdoor recreation; wouldn't Squamish stand a better chance marketing ourselves with something different that can't be accessed in those other centres anymore? People talk about our depressed economy and anti-development reputation but that is not the Squamish I see after living here 5 1/2 years.
We have so much to offer and I think exciting, positive growth already, 300,000 to 500,000 visitors to the local provincial parks each year (which we could direct downtown without a gondola if we wanted to), opportunities on our oceanfront, Quest University, a huge annual music festival, multiple movies and TV shows being filmed, multiple new housing developments (four to five new condo developments downtown alone since I have been here), new retail developments such as London Drugs and adjacent new businesses, a slowly but undoubtedly blossoming downtown, housing prices which doubled and remained relatively steady and growing numbers of recreational tourists - all this in the few years I have been here and since the primary forest industry left town. I think we are doing pretty good, actually, especially compared to other towns who have weathered a global recession as well.
This gondola is not the golden ticket for prosperity Squamish; I think we are already on our way without it. Protecting the integrity of local parks which are already a huge tourist draw and the backbone of our "outdoor capital" reputation, rather than letting developers exploit and diminish them for profit will, I believe, better serve our community in the long run.
Theresa Negreiff
Squamish
