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Discussions continue about tolls on the Sea to Sky Highway

Chamber of Commerce survey finds impacts on employees not as severe as feared The province has once again raised the spectre of tolls on the Sea to Sky Highway.

Chamber of Commerce survey finds impacts on employees not as severe as feared

The province has once again raised the spectre of tolls on the Sea to Sky Highway.

The announcement was part of the spending outlined in the Liberal budget, which included a $2.4 billion plan for transportation infrastructure over the next three years.

It was not welcome news in the resort.

The municipality, Tourism Whistler, and the Whistler Chamber of Commerce immediately began to circulate a letter to encourage businesses and others to voice their opposition to tolls on the highway by writing to the minister of transportation, Judith Reid, and local MLA Ted Nebbeling.

Tourism Whistler, council, and the chamber would only support tolls if they were part of a province-wide strategy.

"We believe that tolls need to be viewed province wide and be part of a province-wide strategy," said Suzanne Denbak, president of Tourism Whistler.

"And certainly, with respect to tolls on the Sea to Sky Highway, we would envision that occurring only if there was an alternate route."

Denbak said tolls would definitely affect business in the resort though more work needs to be done to quantify the impacts.

"We would want to study it further," she said.

"But certainly there would be implications for businesses in town around staffing and with respect to guests and their ability to come to Whistler.

"There would be an improved highway but the cost of the tolls would be a factor in the value of their vacation purchase. We always need to be cognizant of the value that we offer relative to our competition to make sure that we are not becoming too expensive relative to what our markets are willing to pay."

During the budget a 3.5 cent-a-litre gas tax was also announced, but it was clear the revenue from that could not fund all the infrastructure plans on the table.

Premier Gordon Campbell also confirmed tolls might be placed on the Sea to Sky highway.

"Tolls are still something that are being considered in the right circumstances, yes," he told Vancouver media during a scrum.

"We are making no commitments on any of that at this moment.

"With Sea to Sky, we’re right now in the midst of determining what the final costs will be."

More government announcements surrounding how the infrastructure upgrades will be financed are expected in the next month.

Whistler Mayor Hugh O’Reilly said the resort’s position is well known to the government and discussions will continue as plans develop.

"Our position is clear, but if (the government is) going to talk tolls then there are a whole lot of conditions that come with it," said O’Reilly.

The mayor does not oppose tolls if they are provincial in scope, but he does not want to see Whistler singled out.

Brent Leigh, president of the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, agrees — tolls can only be accepted if everyone pays, not just the corridor.

"At the end of the day we all have the same goal, it is just hard to keep it all in balance," said Leigh.

The chamber has also just completed an electronic survey on how the Sea to Sky upgrades are likely to affect businesses.

Of the 590 members who were e-mailed 134 responded.

The chamber found 86 per cent of respondents could work around the closures proposed during the roadwork.

Those businesses affected reported that between 334 and 459 employees would be impacted.

"I think what we learned from this is that the effect in total numbers is not as great as one might have feared," said Leigh.

"However, it is essential to those who are affected."

The survey also found that 13 companies might be forced to lay off workers who commute from Squamish because of the 10 p.m. closing.

That could affect nine to 11 workers.

The proposed 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. closings will also affect businesses.

Of the 38 businesses, which have Squamish commuters, 15 companies estimate between 36 and 47 employees will be affected by these closures.

Five of those 38 businesses indicated their employees could face lay-offs or were unsure of their future because of the 6 a.m. closure.

There is no escaping the fact that the road upgrade is going to have a tremendous impact on the resort.

And if Vancouver and Whistler win their bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympic Games the pace at which the road will be worked on is likely to increase the impact.

But, said Leigh, all stakeholders are working with the Ministry of Transportation to make sure the impacts are mitigated as much as possible.

Last week the ministry announced that work on the Culliton Creek project, on the books for years, will be delay until April 28.

Many in the resort were concerned that starting roadwork any earlier would have too much impact, since work would be ongoing during spring break and Easter.

Leigh said the stakeholders were satisfied by the level of discussion with the ministry to date.

"We desperately need a safer road," said Leigh.

"We have watched too many of our friends and associates suffer on it so that is the win we all need to focus on and I think we are heading in the right direction, generally speaking."