As a long-time resident, I’ve watched the once slow, but now rapid, and seemingly unstoppable growth of tourism in our community. The corresponding change in Squamish from sleepy, tight-knit logging town to a busy, quasi-urban, famous (amongst outdoor recreationists) tourist town has been hard for some residents but welcomed by others.
In my view, both the private sector and volunteer organizations in the community have responded well to the demands of the growing tourism and outdoor recreation economies. On the other hand, I feel that the government, both provincial and municipal, have not kept up. Civic infrastructure hasn’t grown to meet the demand. Some glaring examples of this, starting in the north:
As all the early morning swimmers know, the Brohm Lake parking lot has been too small for years. The tight entry also serves as the U-turn route for the many users of the Cat Lake area, that is, when those same users are not doing the illegal and dangerous left turn out of that busy forest service road.
The need for a traffic light or at least a designated and protected left turn lane out of Alice Lake Park is another long-standing problem area. The pedestrians and bikers crossing the highway at this junction also cry out for some sort of solution.
Closer to home, the Smoke Bluffs parking lot is now a gong show, even mid-week. The lack of pavement and designated parking stalls makes for inefficient use of the area and plenty of frustration.
Despite upgrades, parking at the Stawamus Chief soon fills up on the weekends. Similarly, despite the large lot and numerous parking attendants, the gondola parking also overflows on weekends. The soon-to-open Squamish Canyon walk will also add to our town’s overall congestion despite that business’s considerable investment in access and parking facilities.
The small parking lot at Shannon Falls is typically at capacity early in the day. A long line of frustrated drivers slowly wind their way through the already full lot, only to finally exit and park across the highway at Darrell Bay, Appropriate signage could address this.
All climbers know that if you want a parking spot at Murrin Park on the weekend, one has to show up before 8 a.m. The left turn north to exit the lot is also difficult and dangerous.
The examples above are all long-standing issues, and all are getting worse. Whether or not the powers that be recognize the above and are actively seeking solutions would be welcome news.
Jim Harvey
Squamish
