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Highway upgrade plans and legacies picture becoming clearer

Plans for upgrading the Sea to Sky highway are continuing to evolve.

Plans for upgrading the Sea to Sky highway are continuing to evolve.

At a recent meeting between officials of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Bid Corporation and International Olympic Committee members in Lausanne, Switzerland it was clear that the IOC didn’t expect the highway to be replaced with a four-lane motorway.

What the IOC is interested in said Terry Wright, vice-president of bid development domestic operations, is an upgrade that meets the needs of the communities it serves.

"We’ve always wanted something that works for the community and so does the IOC," said Wright who was in Whistler this week as part of a workshop with council on Olympic issues from transportation to culture.

Many highway upgrade options have been discussed in recent months. The three- and four-lane upgrades have drawn loud criticism from communities along the Sea to Sky as the plan proposes potentially devastating closures.

Under these options the road would be closed for four hours each day and eight hours each night for four days a week, nine months a year for four to six years.

But Wright said it looks like the options being seriously looked at now are more conservative.

"It will be some four-lane sections, and some two lane sections," he said.

Consideration is being given to paving the rail-bed to carry cars during the 17 days of the Games, so that there are always two lanes of traffic available to carry spectators.

Wright said it is just not feasible to make some parts of the highway three-lanes. But that’s the number of lanes needed for the Olympics so options must be considered.

In the end it will be up to government experts to lay out the plans for the highway. The Bid Corporation is hopeful the announcement will be made in time to include the plans in the bid book, which goes to press at the end of October and will be in the hands of the IOC in January 2003.

The multi-modal approach to transportation is being somewhat downgraded in importance.

Wright said it will still be in the bid book but the reality is the main form of transportation for those going to the Games will be the bus.

The Bid Corporation has also found the rail option to be very expensive.

"The train is so expensive, and we have to make sure we are getting value for money," said Wright, adding that more work needs to be done with the IOC on the rail and marine options, as they are not the norm when it comes to transportation.

"They are intrigued by the ideas," he said.

The Bid wants to keep the multi-modal approach on the table as it hopes to use it as a catalyst to getting people out of their cars and into more sustainable forms of transportation.

On the legacies front for Whistler Wright said things were going well.

"We are pretty darn close," he said. "There are only a couple of outstanding issues. We are 90 per cent there."

The three main legacies the municipality is looking for are the land bank in the Callaghan Valley, the expansion of municipal boundaries, and financial tools.

Wright is excited about the opportunity hosting the Olympics offers to Whistler in developing the Callaghan.

"The Olympics are the glue which holds it together because it brings money to the table to make it all happen," he said.

The Callaghan would be the site of the athlete’s village, should Vancouver and Whistler to chosen to host the Winter Games by the IOC. The committee will make its decision next July.

In building the village, money will be provided for infrastructure such as sewage, water and roads. When the Games are over it would be converted into employee-restricted housing.

Whistler Mayor Hugh O’Reilly also believes the government and the municipality are close to a deal.

The thorny issue appears to be the financial tools. Whistler needs them to bring money into the resort without taxing landowners anymore than they are already taxed.

At the moment, said O’Reilly, Whistler can enjoy an increasing number of visitors but the resort enjoys no increased revenue stream back from the government.

"When you add more people you need more policing, more parks, more recreation and the burden falls to the residents and in some part the business owners to pick that tab up," said O’Reilly.

"We want to find a way to tap into some of that revenue from the visitors so if they go up our revenue stream follows and we can respond immediately.

"It is one of the things we have said to the province.

"If you are going to grow the tourism industry we suspect this will become an issue, if not today them tomorrow for other emerging communities."

The complicated discussions have also delayed the municipal council’s decision to endorse the Games.

"We are neutral," said O’Reilly, adding it is his hope the outstanding issues would be resolved in time for the bid book.

"There are impacts for our community. We are very successful and we don’t want to somehow jeopardize that. We are committed to the community and the idea that we would try and bring a bid that worked within our guiding principles, and I think we are so close.

"I hope the province appreciates that we will be great champions and great partners.

"I am optimistic (about endorsing the bid). We are talking right now and on both sides we would like to see this done so it is not something we have to concern ourselves with."

Wright is hopeful too.

"We would prefer (the endorsement) sooner rather than later," he said.

Tourism Whistler, the Whistler Chamber of Commerce and the City of Vancouver have already endorsed going for the Games.

Meanwhile the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District passed a resolution at their Sept. 19 meeting to request an ice arena in Pemberton from the Olympic Bid Committee, and money from the legacy endowment program to fund the arena after the Games are over.

Bid spokesman Sam Corea said he would forward the request to the Bid Development Department.

However, Corea also said arenas are usually only built and funded for event use and there are currently no plans to host any events in Pemberton.