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Police step up numbers for long weekend

Passing school buses a no-no

Lots of college students meant a busy Jan. 12-14 for local RCMP, an American long weekend.

Extra officers were brought in from Vancouver to boost RCMP numbers in Whistler to deal with 139 calls received over the Martin Luther King Day long weekend.

“It was busy but I would say it was a successful weekend,” said RCMP spokesperson Cst. Michelle Nisbet. “We had enough members to deal with what was going on.”

There were 33 disturbance calls about people being publicly drunk, 17 calls about noise or mischief, nine traffic complaints (as in cars parked illegally), and 18 general calls for assistance.

On an unrelated issue, local RCMP are asking motorists to be more diligent about stopping for school buses. In response to a resident who complained that he more than once saw motorists failing to stop for school buses, RCMP are reminding drivers that it is mandatory for vehicles in both directions to stop for school buses. Drivers must stop behind school buses and wait until the bus resumes travelling or until the bus driver signals to other drivers that it is safe to proceed.

“This of course has the potential to be an extremely dangerous situation as young children are trying to get to their bus on time and sometimes may not be paying attention to the traffic as they cross,” Cst. Jeff Levine said in a press release.

Of particular concern are entrances to Blueberry and 19 Mile Creek at Highway 99. Whistler RCMP will be stepping up patrols and issuing $167 fines to offenders.