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'Commuter' is start of regional transit

As an RMOW employee living in Squamish I rely on the #98 Bus to get to work. There are many personal reasons why I want the bus to remain in service but the reason Whistler needs to maintain this service is because it is used by Whistler people.

 

As an RMOW employee living in Squamish I rely on the #98 Bus to get to work. There are many personal reasons why I want the bus to remain in service but the reason Whistler needs to maintain this service is because it is used by Whistler people. It is also one of the accomplishments listed on the Whistler 2020 website. The #98 Bus is part of what Whistler 2020 calls "inter-community mobility"; it is part of the existing "alternative transportation system to, from and within Whistler."

There is a significant difference between the Pemberton and Squamish buses. As a daily rider I have given directions to many Whistler people arriving in Squamish. In addition to shopping destinations they are looking for Service BC, Service Canada, the hospital, the Stawamus Chief, mountain bike trails, Capilano University and other services and facilities not available in Whistler.

This bus has always been under-promoted. This summer was the first time it was listed in a Whistler bus schedule. When I mention it in Squamish, many have never heard of it and others assume that the "Commuter" is some sort of program requiring registration and payment in advance. They are surprised to find out that $5 cash can get them dropped off at the gondolas without driving, parking or walking.

I have watched the slow growth in ridership as people find out about this service. People in Whistler are increasingly using the #98. Whistler faces a chronic shortage of people with Early Childhood Education training. There are people who live and work in Whistler who use the #98 in the evening to study ECE at Capilano University in Squamish.

This is not a "Commuter" bus. It is the beginning of a regional transit system. If Whistler can provide a free shuttle for tourists then surely it can provide part of the funding for a system that serves its own people. The #98 bus needs to grow and develop to become an example of what inter-community bus service can be.

Whistler Transit and the RMOW can be the leaders in bringing together the other governments and service providers needed to make this system grow. The first step is to leave it alone. A 60 per cent fare increase will kill it. Find a funding agreement to maintain the existing service at current prices for 2011. Start with an outline then create a five-year plan for a Regional Inter-community Transit Service between Horseshoe Bay and Mount Currie.

Lower Mainland transit service extends to Lions Bay, why not Squamish? There is no bus service that can get you from Horseshoe Bay to Squamish or Whistler. There is no bus service from Whistler or Squamish that will get you to Vancouver much before noon. Take a look at a Whistler schedule and see how long it takes to go from Creekside to Meadow Park at various times of day. Number 98 and #99 buses are the beginning of a fabulous regional inter-community bus system. Don't be seen as the one who pulled the plug.

For the past six years I have lived in Squamish, usually without a car. Transit and transportation are often on my mind and I have written about them in the past. In just over a decade the Sea to Sky corridor has seen the loss of daily train service, a decrease in Greyhound service and now a threat to our limited transit connection. This is not the sustainable future I had imagined.

P.S. Congratulations Whistler for being featured in the World Energy Congress Best Energy Management Practices Report.

Murray Gamble

Squamish

 

Get bear smart

I'm becoming increasingly distressed about the number of bears that are being killed in Whistler (seven so far this year) - a community that's been working on becoming bear smart for over a decade. How can we allow this to happen?

Is the provincial government, who is charged with taking care of wildlife in B.C. responsible? Or is it our local municipal government? Is it the community? Or, is it all three? The Whistler Bear Working Group (BWG), which is comprised of many stakeholders like the Get Bear Smart Society (GBS), the RMOW, Conservation Officer Service, RCMP, Carney's Waste Systems and Whistler Blackcomb all work together to manage human-bear conflicts. But this is not a problem that the Bear Working Group or any of its partners can solve alone. It takes a community to build a bear smart movement. YOU are ultimately a vital part of the solution. Each and every one of us.

As Whistler residents, each of us needs to do our part to address the root cause of the problem - what attracted the bear into a conflict situation in the first place. Until we take care of our garbage, recycling, bird feeders and other attractants, bears will continue to enter the village and residential areas and get into conflict. And Conservation Officers and police will be bound by policy to kill them to protect public safety and property. The vicious cycle will continue, as another bear will simply fill the vacant habitat niche.

Each time a bear gets a food reward from a human source, it contributes to that bear's level of conflict escalating. And unfortunately, you can't "unlearn" a bear.

There are a few simple things that you can do to prevent conflict, increase safety for all of us and minimize the number of bears getting killed.

1. It starts at home in your own backyard. Keep it free of food, garbage and odorous items that attract bears. Learn more at www.bearsmart.com/becoming-bear-smart/home.

2. Be a tattle-tale. If you see improperly stored garbage/recycling, or hear that people are feeding bears etc., report the occurrence (by calling 905-BEAR) to Bylaw Services (Option 2) or the Conservation Officer Service (Option 1). You are our eyes and ears. We can't be everywhere all the time. We cannot fine or educate people effectively unless we know where the problems are. Once the bear has been shot, it's too late. We are only as strong as our weakest links - most people in Whistler are good about their attractants, but enough aren't and they're the ones creating problems for the rest of us.

3. Let mayor and council know that you support a bear-proof waste management system that everyone has access to; whether they have a vehicle to transport their trash to the compactor sites or not. If we make it easy and convenient for people to get rid of their garbage, recycling, and compost responsibly they will . Providing convenient bear-proof waste infrastructure complements other initiatives like Zero Waste and 2020 Sustainability and will reduce (but not eliminate) the need for enforcement. You can reach the mayor at 604-932-5535 or e-mail him at mayor@whistler.ca.

A big thank you to all the residents who are bear smart! But don't forget to tattle on those that aren't - call 905-BEAR (choose option 2) to report all garbage and attractant issues. It just takes one non-participating household or business to create a problem for bears.

Remember, "problem" bears are not born, they are created by human carelessness and indifference.

Imagine living in a community where people coexist with wildlife and their impact on the environment is sustainable. That's what we CAN and MUST do in Whistler. We can be the model for other communities to follow.

Sylvia Dolson

Executive Director

Get Bear Smart Society

 

Speed bumps in the alpine

With innumerable trails available to mountain bikes, do they really need to churn up the Musical Bumps trail, not to mention the delicate alpine vegetation adjoining it?

(I only hiked as far as Flute Summit on Oct. 2 and therefore cannot comment on the Garibaldi Park sections of the trail).

I have lived in Whistler part-time/full-time since 1967 and I fail to understand why every last bit of unspoiled beauty remaining has to be destroyed. If Tourism Whistler wants to market our hiking trails to the destination tourist, bikes most definitely will have to be kept out of the high alpine.

Jutta Arendt

Whistler

 

The perfect turn

Someone once told me that traveling opens your eyes to new things but also informs you of what you most miss about the place you left. When I lived in Southern California the weather seemed to be the same everyday. It felt like you could fry an egg on the sidewalk. So I missed the shade, the trees. It took a couple of years to recognize the change of season. After the Santa Anna winds blew themselves out and the sky became serenely blue it was winter, generally around American Thanksgiving. I came to really appreciate that time of year but I missed the dramatic fall of back home.

It was my first weekend up here for the season and Mother Nature was indeed dramatic. The mountain reminded me very much of Moraine Lake at Lake Louise.

On that 40-minute hike I went from sweating it out in 80 degree heat to shivering as the rain turned to snow! I'll never forget it and I've rarely seen weather like it since.

So as I waited for the shuttle to take me up to Blackcomb Village I watched the black clouds sweep across the mountain, splitting shards of blue sky and dropping rain at 30-degree angles on one place and skipping over others. What a wonderful mosaic, a tapestry of weather you might say.

After a most confusing hour of desiring more stuff at the turkey sale, I was glad to have to leave. I was on my way back to meet the property manager and finalize my new arrangement. As I waited for her outside the new digs I watched the clouds roll to the northwest and reveal the mountain speckled with gold, amber, and the occasional splash of red, (the maples who give it up first). All of it sat under a clear blue sky. What a terrific change of weather. A perfect turn you might say.

I'd like to work this metaphor just a bit more. You see I like turns... I bet a lot of us do. I think the people that end up living in Whistler are the types of people who enjoy the road less traveled, who seek it out. I remember one skier in a Warren Miller film saying the mountain was an equation to be solved and she was looking for the perfect way down it. Perhaps life is like the mountain, in the sense that we are all looking for this perfectly unique way of experiencing it. We do it at once together and yet separate (Aldous Huxley).

I've gotten to meet several interesting people this weekend. A retiree that showed me how to tell if a mushroom is poisonous or not. A French bus driver extolling the virtues of activism. A miner who moved here for one season 20 years ago. But it was the fella at Prior boards and skis that really struck a chord.

I had a full weekend and I was set to get back to the city Monday night and take care of business this week. I had picked up a few things that I needed at the sales. Primarily some socks and goggles. I had coveted more than a few other things but I'm tapped out. Moving in, the season pass, I just can't afford new skis. Still I thought I'd stop at the Prior Factory on the way out of town. You know, just take a look.

So after talking to this fella for a while, I fessed up and told him, I just can't afford them right now. He says, no problem if you're living up here I'll give you that price you see there whenever you're ready to get 'em, and take these three free demo day cards and see which ones you like best!

I got choked up, I thought my eyes would well up. I quickly thanked him and got the hell out of there before I started crying. When I got to the light at 99 I pulled over, maybe I should stay tonight? What's the rush? I was finding it hard to turn the truck south, and that's when I think another "perfect turn" happened. I made a left.

Robin Avery

(Y.A.H)

Whistler

 

A special Thanksgiving

I was grateful for so many blessings this Thanksgiving weekend, and then on the day of "Thanks" kind souls in Birken and Pemberton connected the true meaning of giving and sharing even more.

Just before dinner on Thanksgiving Sunday my dog Cinder was in an accident with a truck. The Metcalfe family in Birken tended to her and me with such care that the value of family and support shined upon both me and my dog. I truly believe that the energy surrounding us that night relaxed us and prepared us for what was to come.

Cinder's breathing became much laboured and she deteriorated very quickly the next day as she went into shock. I realized that on a Monday holiday in Pemberton we were faced with a great challenge of receiving care.

Small towns are special in that we know our neighbours, or our friends know our neighbours... so I was able to drive to Melanie's house; Melanie is the vet's assistant in Pemberton at the Owl Creek Veterinary Clinic. She was an angel to me, coming to my house, giving such love and stability to Cinder and I as she was grasping for breath.

My friend and neighbour, Mary, came to support me and brought me soup, hugs and accompanied me to the clinic - Mary, thank you.

Then, Christine the veterinarian at Owl Creek opened the clinic at 7 p.m. for us to arrive and examined my sweet girl, all in the evening of a holiday Monday.

Christine saved my dog. Actually, everyone involved, saved her this weekend. They didn't have too. They just did it - love and compassion in its entirety.

Now Cinder is breathing well and recovering from a collapsed lung. She's sore but she's going to live to run and be the happy joyful soul she is.

Thank you, grace is in our actions at times of need. This thanksgiving, I was showered with a community of giving.

Jeanne Cross

Pemberton

 

Tired of tirades

I'm tired of Mr. Beaudry's nonsensical tirades against WB, the P2P, tourism marketing consultants, and everything Whistler.

Whistler businesses are failing and we have an ordure pile to clean up? Ski resorts that remove lifts are progressive and the wave of the future? "Smytthews" ruined the ski experience and we're still dealing with the consequences? Beaudry's accusations and insults continue ad nauseam, rarely grounded on the slightest foundation of fact or reason.

I strongly believe that few people share Mr. Beaudry's bleak outlook towards the present and future state of Whistler and the ski industry, and I'm concerned the Pique's global online circulation affords distant readers the impression that the fringe opinions expressed within Alta States are credible. While Mr. Beaudry is certainly entitled to his opinions, too often his writings of late do not deserve the soapbox provided by Pique .

Whistler isn't broken and doesn't need to be saved. We're consistently ranked among the best mountain resorts in the world, and that didn't happen by accident. We were and are being led by the best in the business. Enough already about the P2P! Sixty-seven per cent of summer guests polled in the village stated the P2P was a contributing reason for their visit. Our guests love it. The P2P has been a home run for Whistler and represents a far bolder move than Mr. Beaudry's dream advertising campaign that would consist of looking back at the good ol' days and name dropping.

I believe the real underlining issue that Mr. Beaudry has with on-mountain improvements (read: too easy and accessible) and our marketing strategies is he feels that we're attracting the wrong people to Whistler. The masses. Those only interested in cheap hotel rooms and being whisked from restaurant to restaurant. Mr. Beaudry's Whistler would be far more exclusive - only true "snoweaters," with "not just good but great" skiing skills and proof of ski magazine subscriptions would be welcome. This place really would be the ghost town he fears we'll become - if we decided to focus on five per cent of the market!

Mr. Beaudry, please keep your rancid opinions to yourself, leave the marketing to the pros and stick to the story writing which once garnered you accolades, awards, and followers.

Eric Callender

Whistler

 

Big hearts for cycling cops

Re: Cops for Cancer

Every fall, over 100 members of law enforcement and emergency services cycle up to two weeks across four areas of British Columbia to support children with cancer and their families through the Canadian Cancer Society.

This year, the Cops for Cancer Tour de Coast rolled through Whistler on Sunday, Sept. 26, raising money for life-saving childhood cancer research and caring support services, including the acclaimed summer recreation program, Camp Goodtimes (which celebrated its 25 th year in 2010).

In a continuing effort to support them, IGA donated by providing the 40+ riders and their team with a delicious and nutritious lunch, and the Longhorn offered up a spectacular dinner and relaxing environment to everyone. Both IGA and the Longhorn went over and above what was asked of them, and we are forever grateful to them for their generosity.

It's the big-hearted community involvement and giving back such as that provided by IGA and Longhorn that makes us all proud to be a part of this wonderful town.

With gratitude,

Jude Allen, Susie Frank, Sarah Siddall, Jacki Bissillion, Kimberly Thompson

Whistler and Pemberton Community Team

Canadian Cancer Society