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Highway closure costs Whistler quarter million dollars

Accident, improper tires blamed for five-hour closure While locals enjoyed 46 centimetres of powder and short lift lines on Saturday, at the gates north of Squamish thousands of frustrated skiers and boarders waited over five hours for Highway 99 to

Accident, improper tires blamed for five-hour closure

While locals enjoyed 46 centimetres of powder and short lift lines on Saturday, at the gates north of Squamish thousands of frustrated skiers and boarders waited over five hours for Highway 99 to reopen.

"We believe we had at least 2,000 to 3,000 customers that didn’t make it up the mountain on Saturday, because they couldn’t make it to Whistler with the road being closed," says Doug Foseth, Senior Vice President of Operations for Whistler-Blackcomb.

"We based that on a kind of a forecast we made based on what’s normal for this time of year and the numbers we had on Sunday – on Sunday numbers were back up and we were right on for all the budget levels, so it’s obvious we lost business."

The mountains weren’t the only losers, either, says Forseth.

"For the whole community it was a loss of revenue, people in hotels, people in stores and restaurants. It was probably a quarter of a million (dollars) in lost business for the community on Saturday."

According to Forseth, the community arrived at those numbers by multiplying the estimated number of customers that were delayed by the road closure by the average expense per visitor. If anything, says Forseth, it’s a conservative estimate.

A number of drivers have called and written Whistler-Blackcomb to express their frustration with the road closure.

"There were some very disappointed people," Forseth says.

Whistler-Blackcomb is currently working through the municipality, and its ties to the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, to find ways to prevent future road closures.

"We talked to the (municipal) Transportation Advisory Group about how we’re going to try and address this so we can be better prepared to manage it in the future, when we get the next big storm."

According to Corporal Don Orthner of the Squamish RCMP, the storm on Saturday was only part of the problem.

Snowy conditions from the night before led to a minor head-on collision between two vehicles about 20 kilometres north of Squamish on Highway 99 at approximately 7:20 a.m.

"As a result of the accident we stopped all northbound and southbound traffic at that location," says Orthner.

The officers attending the accident notified the department of highways, which indicated a road closure on the sign near the Alice Lake area.

"People were just ignoring it. So eventually at about 9 o’clock I zipped up there to the gates north of Alice Lake and closed the gates," Orthner says. "People were just heading up north and just getting stuck in the big traffic jam up there and causing more problems."

Although the accident had been cleared by approximately 8:45 a.m., the vehicles were backed up in both directions.

"When we eventually got the vehicles off the road, the were experiencing a very heavy snowfall, and that was compounded by the fact that all these cars on the highway were idling, and melting the snow beneath them and causing a huge ice buildup."

Because there was nowhere for the cars to go, the snowplows couldn’t get through to clear and salt the area.

The cars, trucks and buses that were already past the gates were left on their own to proceed, and a number of cars got stuck in the snow.

John Combatti, the manager for Whistler towing, says his company towed about 20 stranded vehicles in a six hour period, and that other local towing companies were also extremely busy.

"It was mostly cars in disarray and lying across the highway because they didn’t have proper snow tires on," says Combatti. "There weren’t a lot in the ditch, although a couple of tour buses were stranded on the side of the road and a couple of motorhomes were stuck.

"Nothing was seriously in the ditch but people were pretty stuck, coming up from the coast for a little skiing, risking their lives for a little powder."

The RCMP were also quick to blame the fact that many of the cars on the highway didn’t have snow tires or chains.

"If it wasn’t for this accident happening, and causing a big jam, manpower permitting we would have had a road check outside of Squamish to check people to make sure they had decent tires," says Orthner. "If they didn’t have tires we’d be turning them around.

"Nobody should be surprised by a road check. We do them eight to 10 times throughout the winter, and there’s a sign saying as much that’s been there for years."

Like the mountains, the RCMP also received a large number of "nasty phone calls from people who were frustrated that they couldn’t go up to Whistler when they wanted to," Orthner says. "It’s pretty much out of our hands when the weather is like that."

The highway wasn’t opened again until after 1 p.m.

ICBC doesn’t have any accident statistics for that day yet, but weren’t surprised by the number of reports that were coming in.

"So much of it is driver behaviour, which is pathetic really because a lot of crashes wouldn’t have happened with a little care," says Kathleen Hicks, who is with ICBC’s Loss Prevention centre.

"People who overdrive for the condition, who don’t have snow tires, that’s human behaviour as well."

Traffic in Whistler was also a problem on the weekend. Between Friday, Nov. 30 and Monday, Dec. 3, the Whistler RCMP detachment received approximately 20 calls regarding motor vehicle accidents, stuck cars or delays on roadways, and according to Community Policing Officer Carmen Magnusson, three officers spent almost their entire shift on Saturday pushing cars and checking the rubber on tires.

"You need 3.5 millimetres to 5 millimetres, although 5 millimetres will barely keep you on the road in those conditions," she says.

The RCMP will be checking tires at all accidents to determine if tires were at fault, and recommends that all residents make sure they are in compliance.

Traffic Officer Constable Lee Hamilton says there is an automatic $86 fine for not having proper tires, and that local police will be conducting road checks with zero tolerance.

"It comes down to civil liability," says Hamilton. "If I know you have illegal tires and it’s snowy, you’re going on a tow truck. If I let you go, and you get in a crash, it could come back to me or another officer."

According to Scott Pass of Whistler Transit, the buses were also inconvenienced by the storm.

"It started off with about a third of our staff stuck in Squamish, who had a great deal of trouble getting up here. But in our opinion, the reasons for all the problems have less to do with the weather than with improper tires," says Pass.

Drivers were delayed by cars with improper tires that couldn’t climb hills, or even pull off to the side to the let the buses, which are equipped with snow tires, to pass.

"All things considered, our divers did an outstanding job as far as driving safely and staying on schedule," says Pass.

There was one highway fatality in the Interior of B.C. as a result of the storm. A northbound pickup truck rolled off the Coquihalla Highway about 10 km north of the toll booths and rolled several times.

The female passenger died, while the male driver suffered minor injuries. Both were wearing their seatbelts.