Pay parking was always in the
plan
I am somewhat confused with
the rationale behind Mayor Ken Melamed’s announcement that pay parking will be
implemented for day skier Lots 1 to 3 to fund the construction of the debris
barrier that is designed to protect the entire Village from potential flooding.
It would appear that council has not discussed or approved this plan as
councillor Erkhard Zeidler has indicated that introducing pay parking as a way
of paying for the barrier project before community consultation is very
problematic.
It is not sufficient to “want
to hear input on the implementation”; the community should have input on the
more fundamental question of why the users of Lots 1-3 should pay for something
that is going to benefit the entire village. In order to have a rational
discussion, the RMOW needs to provide complete factual information so that
there can be an informed dialogue of the issue. For example, the number of
parking stalls in each lot, including Creekside; who owns each lot; which lots are
to be paved and at what cost; the logic of charging for some lots but not
others; some background on the economics of the project.
Mayor Melamed has neatly
tried to muddy the waters by combining two totally separate issues; pay parking
and funding the cost of the debris barrier. In fact, pay parking has long been
bubbling below the surface as an unresolved community issue ever since it was
first introduced in the Comprehensive Transportation Strategy in 1998.
Let the debate begin.
Gary McDonnell
Whistler
Re: My forgotten subdivision
What a very appropriate piece
you wrote last week. I don't know how many times recently I have composed a
letter in my head with similar thoughts. Your footsteps must be the ones I
follow down the highway each morning and I have often seen where you jump into
the snow bank.
I applaud your suggestion of
reducing the speed limit to 60 km/h, it might help a bit. The only saving grace
is that Function is such a busy and well populated place now that the regular
changing traffic light does serve to slow the traffic a bit. As only about 10
percent of the vehicles make any attempt to slow, or pull over to the middle of
the road.
Mind you, half the problem is
the drivers don't know where the centre yellow line or side white lines are.
Why do they paint the road with washable paint, when a bit of snow and the
lines disappear? In fact, when was the last time the lines were painted anyway?
And hasn't anyone heard of reflective “cat's eyes” to mark the center and sides
of the road?
I would suggest the muni save
some of that money they plan on spending on the dreadful roof contraption for
Lot 1/9 and actually fix some things around the valley that need fixing, like a
safe trail to Function Junction. While sustainability might be the in thing at
the moment, it is not very sustainable if the only safe way to get to Function
is to drive.
And while I'm on the subject
of driving, Whistler Transit really needs to do something about the bus
schedule. Yes, the bus has high ridership, but look at the typical demographic
of who lives in the resort — not your average single driver in a monster
SUV/truck, but double-job, minimum-pay earners who need to get to their next
job on time. So why, when you ask the 5 p.m. driver why the bus is always late
and he answers “don't blame me I've just started my shift,” can't he start on
time? We all stand there and watch the bus arrive in plenty of time to leave at
5 p.m.
Keep up the thought provoking
opening remarks Andrew. Who knows, something might happen — but I won't hold my
breath. I only do that walking to Function.
Rosemary Cook
Whistler
Buses now, excuses later
This is in response to the
article, Bus complaints are up this year. Reading this article was somewhat
disturbing.
So there are 20,750 people
travelling on the bus each day. If 16,000 of them are paying a fare that would
amount to $24,000 a day, and in a 30-day month that would equal $720,000. Say
that number is only valid for the four really busy months, that would equal
$2,880,000. Are you saying with that kind of revenue there are no buses that
can be purchased?
Then it is quoted that the
winter schedule is based on a nice afternoon in October. To me that seems a
little strange, given how busy the other 11 months are. The article also says
that transit cannot schedule around snow, so are we forgetting where we live,
and what happens ever year in December, January, February, and March?
I think this is just a way of
passing the buck. The solution is to not wait to get the new fleet of buses
right before the Olympics, but to get them now for the people that are here
making this place ready for the Olympics.
Paul Rowe
Whistler
It’s worse than you think
I am offended by Scott
Burley’s apology in last weeks Pique. He sates that “the schedule is built for
a nice afternoon in October. We can’t schedule for snow.” I think every bus
rider and vehicle owner in this town knows that when it snows there will be
traffic delays. The fact is buses don’t show up or are consistently 10 to 20
minutes late. There are far more than 200 people complaining about this service
they just haven’t voiced their option yet.
It was a beautiful morning on
Friday (Jan. 25) and my friend was trying to take the 5:27 a.m. Emerald bus to
the Village that never showed up. Was this due to cold? He was obviously late
for work. The next day the same bus was 15 minutes late. My friend was standing
next to the same guy from the day before hoping the bus was going to show.
I think bus riders and
employers deserve an explanation every time a bus is late, as they are faced
with the panic of being late to work almost every morning. Even when they try
to take the bus that will get them there half an hour before they start work
they still are late.
I live in Creekside and I
think service is consistently worse than north of the village. People are sick
and tired of this service. It has been horrible for at least three or four
years. I’m glad people are finally complaining, now hopefully something will
get done.
Stephen Baumberg
Whistler
Re: New and much more
sophisticated credit card fraud.
Most of us in the nightly
accommodation market have been exposed to requests from a supposed travel agent
representing a group that wants to rent one's property. These emails seem to
always originate in the U.K. and are sent by someone who didn’t excel in
grammar. This is often transparently a fraud, when the group is supposedly
coming for a religious conference and has hired a third party to supply
"cars and drivers including security personnel" (Gee, I didn't know
the pope skied!)
The guests will supply a
credit card number and ask that you charge an amount much greater than the cost
of the accommodation.
After the charge has been
accepted by the credit card provider and an authorization number issued, they
request you wire a specified amount to the "third party" as this
company does not have a merchant credit card account. Some time after, the
amount of the credit card that you deposited in your account is reversed.
And now, the new one:
We received an enquiry from a
travel agency in Bali, Indonesia representing a client in Singapore. The email
was very well written and included a request for information on rental
accommodation, on hiring a tour guide, and asking if we were in a position to
pay a commission to the travel agency. (This a normal request, and if the stay
exceeds our minimum nights we offer 10 per cent).
The email includes the
mailing address of the agency and their website. The site was very legitimate
and professional looking.
Negotiations continued over a
few days and were concluded for a 10-night stay in early April.
The agent passed on the
information to the client in Singapore and asked that we arrange payment
through the credit card that he would provide. The client e-mailed a signed
credit card form authorization that included his mailing address and a request
to split the charge between two credit cards.
He included all the pertinent
information needed for an authorization — Visa card number, expiry date and his
name as it would appear on the card. He also included the three digit security
code that only appears on the back of the card (this is the first time anyone
has voluntarily provided this).
In addition to the amount for
the accommodation, he also requested I include $500 for a personal gratuity for
the travel agent and $300 for "our personal gratuity for you".
The charges were accepted by
Visa on both credit cards and I was issued the authorization numbers.
I was puzzled why the renter
would give me a $300 tip and was concerned about my obligation to wire an
additional $500 to the travel agency.
I again contacted Visa to
enquire as to what bank issued the cards. On checking, the cards originated
from the Chase Manhattan bank in New Jersey and Vermont. I was given the bank's
number and on checking with them found out the cards were not stolen but that
the name on the cards did not correspond to the name given to me.
I plan to reverse the two
charges during the bank's business hours, if this has not already been done by
the card issuer.
What can you do to protect
yourself:
• Check the origin of the
card by giving the first four digits to the credit card rep, as these numbers
designate the issuing bank and their location. If you have been given the
information on a card from a party in Mexico that was issued by a bank in
Toronto, then red flags should go up!
• When requesting a telephone
authorization, talk to an agent and request the toll free telephone number of
the issuing bank. One call will ensure that the name on the card corresponds
with the party you are dealing with.
• Keep in mind, that the only
time a bank will back the merchant is if a) the hard copy has been signed by
the card holder and the expiry date verified and b) the merchant asks to see a
photo ID and confirm that the picture is of the party presenting the credit
card and that the names match.
John Richmond
Whistler
Mixing cats and weasels
I've been out of town for
over a year, and what a difference a year makes in Whistler, with the Olympic
building frenzy in high gear. Of particular interest to me is the on-mountain
improvements as I have, like many locals, an intimate relationship with the ski
hill.
What’s even more noticeable
is the huge fleet of brand new Piston Bully 600 snowcats, half of which are
winch cats. I love snowcats, especially new winchcats!
Why in the world though, does
VANOC need so many? It’s two years before the hoopla and there's already 16
parked at the Orange Chair and Timing Flats. Apparently there's another dozen
showing up in the coming years. That's a fleet equivalent to that of both
Whistler and Blackcomb combined for two race courses and one training run!
I have been involved in
course prep for many World Cup races in the last 20 years from being a Weasel
Worker, snowmaker and groomer. It's an enormous task, but we always managed to
construct a beautiful FIS standard course with the resources we had.
Now I wonder if "too
many cooks can spoil this broth". I'm a little disappointed that the usual
crew is being replaced by an army of imported operators. Realistically, once
the course is built, an experienced winch operator and one free cat can groom
the entire run, under good conditions. Usually if it snows, it’s best to keep
machines off and have Weasel Workers side slip any fresh snow.
Now I know what's at stake
here and we can't afford to cancel this race because of too much snow like so
many previous World Cups, but Mother nature calls the shots and she doesn't
care if there's $10 million worth of iron out there.
I hope I'm not going to be
chastised for barking up the wrong tree. We appreciate the help in the grooming
department. When I ask why they need so many cats I'm told VANOC requires a
winch cat for every 1,000 metres of course and an extra cat for every cat just
in case. The free cats are for the detail work.
Like I said, I love snowcats
but I'm well aware of the massive amounts of fuel, maintenace and skilled
operators required. If VANOC claims to be prudent with their budget and wants
us to believe these are going to be the greenest games yet I need a better
rationale than that.
Mike Roger
Whistler/Birken
Olympic trifecta
This past weekend my
girlfriend Angela and I decided to check out the new Olympic venues. We started
out on Saturday afternoon with the Whistler Sliding Centre walk. What a piece of
engineering — the fastest track in the world! We then headed into the Callaghan
on Sunday to see the Whistler Olympic Park, an awesome facility. If you haven’t
been up there you have to go check it out. The ski jumps are there in all their
glory and the setting is classic Canadiana. We spent some time skate skiing on
the perfectly groomed trails, then came across some of our young biathlon
athletes practicing rifle shooting at the range. After a few laps around the
penalty area we carried on and came across the spot where the Olympic stadium
will be. They were busy giving out medals for the B.C. Cup race that was held
that morning.
We couldn’t resist racing
around the oval given you can clearly see where the Olympic start and finish
lines will be. (Ang beat me fair and square — damn!).
We then drove back to
Whistler and loaded the gondy at Creekside to complete our triathlon of Olympic
venues with a race down the Dave Murray, where four World Cup races will be
held in three weeks. (I lost again, but I think I won the aprés session at
Dusty’s).
The Olympics are not just
coming, they are here already. Let’s get into it! Check out www.bcsliding.com
and www.whistlerolympicpark.ca to get involved.
Ben Thomas
Whistler
What’s for dinner?
So, I packed all my stuff
this fall and made the move to Pemby. I guess it’s inevitable if I plan to
settle down in this corridor and actually own a home. After the first few snow
storms I had defiantly decided I was moving back to Whistler but now, in the
crisp January sun, I think I’m falling in love.
I am writing to find out why
the Pemberton Valley Market does not sell Pemberton Valley meat. Don’t get me
wrong here, the meat is packed very well and it looks clean and fresh but why
no Pemberton Valley meat? Minimal organic meat selection? Tuna? Game? This
upscale market should be all for this type of food. I know the people who live
in this town are!. Is there a reason they don’t sell it? Is there something I
don’t know? I see all the little strollers riding by and it makes me wonder… Is
everyone feeding their kids these mass produced meat products with God knows
what inside?
Joanne Van Engelsdorp
Pemberton