Pay parking not a priority for 2002
Piece by piece the Resort Municipality of Whistler and the Transportation Advisory Group (TAG) are assembling the elements of the 1999 Whistler Comprehensive Transportation Strategy, the recipe for relieving congestion and improving the quality of life for residents and visitors.
According to Emma DalSanto, the Transportation Demand Management Co-ordinator for TAG, the group has already started to implement the more than 56 items on its task list, starting with the "low hanging fruit."
"By low hanging fruit we mean the objectives that are within easy reach that are easy and inexpensive to implement," said DalSanto, speaking at the AWARE monthly meeting on Feb. 7.
"They are also priorities for the community. If we can do anything with the existing infrastructure, and with the assets we already have, then we’d like to move forward sooner than later."
During the meeting she went through the highlights from the 2001 implementation plan, in which TAG moved forward with five of the 56 initiatives on the task list. She then discussed the seven initiatives proposed for 2002.
Among the initiatives launched last year were the communications strategy, the rideshare program, the creation of a rail task team, the creation of a transportation centre, and the employee bus pass program. TAG also participated on the Whistler Cycling Committee, which is attempting to create a bicycle network plan for the community.
The communications strategy kicked off "The Whistler Way" campaign, which promoted alternatives to single occupancy vehicles such as taking the bus, walking, cycling and car pooling.
"This campaign will be an ongoing thing for us," says DalSanto. "We seem to have an unhealthy attachment to our cars. The moment we turn 16 and get our driver’s licenses we don’t want to walk anywhere, or ride our bikes, or take the bus – the car is the cool way to get there. That’s the kind of attitude we have to counter."
The campaign is modelled after similar campaigns in other towns and cities, notably the TravelWise program in Aspen, Colorado, and the Go Green program in Vancouver.
Next on the list is the rideshare campaign, which has already been successful. The Jack Bell Foundation of Vancouver has helped to sponsor a van and car pooling program for Squamish residents that work in Whistler. Four minivans and one car are already on the road.
"We’re done the feasibility study on a bus service between Squamish and Whistler, and it’s been well-received by both councils. All we need now is the funding," DalSanto says.
"We’re waiting for Feb. 19 to see if the government is going to do anything with our funding, but right now the best we can hope is that it holds steady, which will mean we won’t have the money to expand the service. In the meantime we are going to promote more ride sharing in the corridor."
During a recent traffic study at Whistler intersections, the surveyors noticed that the number of single-passenger vehicles was down during the busy summer and winter months, but higher during the off-season.
"The highway is busy during the peak seasons, but we have to recognize that we are the problem, not the tourists" says DalSanto, "Whistler residents and second-home owners are a major contributor to traffic congestion in Whistler. Even when it’s slow from a tourism perspective, there is heavy traffic on the roads. You can see it at the schools when they let out, in the village, just about everywhere.
"I’m not anti-car. I believe that each mode of transportation should be sued where it’s most efficient."
The Rail Task Team has worked with the 2010 Olympic transportation work group, and has acted as a municipal liaison to the larger Sea To Sky Corridor Travel Demand Study. The basic goal is to promote rail travel as a viable alternative to travel to Whistler in the future.
The creation of a central Transportation Centre was deferred to 2002. The goal is to create a central area where residents and visitors can move between municipal buses, Greyhound and Perimeter buses, and taxis.
Another initiative was the Employee Bus Pass Program with Whistler-Blackcomb, which will enable employees to take transit by incorporating the same technology that the current bus passes use onto staff passes. TAG is currently experimenting with the technology, and Whistler-Blackcomb is looking into the possibility of subsidizing transit for employees.
If this initiative is successful, TAG wants to use the same technology on all season passes. DalSanto also believes that other businesses could use a similar formula to subsidize bus passes for their employees.
The first draft of the bicycle network plan was completed in the summer, and presented to the public for consultation.
"We interviewed a lot of people and the number one reason people had for not bringing their bikes to the village was security," says DalSanto. "Bikes don’t just cost $1,000 anymore, and I even thought that was expensive. A lot of people have bikes worth $2,000, $3,000, even $4,000, and they don’t want to leave them anywhere if there’s a chance they could get stolen."
This year will likely see the creation of long term, secure bike parking in the village. The second draft of the network plan will be released in March with more details on other cycling initiatives.
Other highlights from 2001 include the municipality’s adoption of a traffic calming policy that allows communities to apply for things like speed bumps and traffic lights that are a benefit to residents. This policy was also responsible for the removal of the gates separating Spruce Grove and White Gold, and Blueberry from Tapley’s Farm, although this gate still operates during peak hours.
The new Greyhound temporary bus shelter is also a step in the right direction until the transportation centre can be created, giving people a place to stay dry while waiting for buses.
Whistler And Valley Express service has also been active with new WAVECards, bike racks on all 24 WAVE buses, increased summer service to Whistler Creek and increased winter service to Whistler Creek, Alpine and Emerald subdivisions, including late night service. In partnerships they have also installed five more bus shelters, one with the Rotary Club, one with the municipality, and three with developers.
All of these programs will continue in 2002, and seven new initiatives will be taken up by TAG.
The first is a study monitoring Skier Modal Shift, or how skiers and boarders got to the hill. The previous study in 1997 found that more than half of visitors came in private vehicles, but since then both the local and regional bus services have improved.
The Whistler Way promotions will be tied to Whistler’s Sustainability Initiative in the future.
The group will also study traffic demand management for high school students, and will continue to push alternatives in the community. RideShare will also be expanded unless funding comes through to launch a bus service between Whistler and Squamish.
Regarding the employee bus pass programs, TAG is confident that the program will be up and running by next season.
The bicycle network plan will continue to evolve, with route’s extended or expanded in conjunction with capital and maintenance projects that are already on the books, "which costs us nothing," says DalSanto.
The Sea to Sky Corridor Travel Demand Study will present its findings to council this spring regarding the expansion of rail service to the resort.
TAG will also make an inventory of village parking to determine how it’s being used and whether it can be optimized.
The spectre of pay parking in Whistler has been deferred indefinitely until the municipality can gain some kind of control over the current lots, the majority of which are on crown land and tenured to Whistler-Blackcomb.
"We’re not really working on the issue of ownership right now, and it could be a while before we do anything, one way or another, regarding pay parking," says DalSanto.
Pay parking was one of the disincentives proposed in the transportation strategy to get people onto alternative transportation.
In the coming weeks, TAG will finalize plans for 2002 and present them to council.
