Resort Municipality of Whistler

Jess LaFramboise

1.1) Do you support the creation of TDM through smart growth planning and changes to infrastructure such as increasing sidewalks and bike paths and identifying new park & ride areas? If yes, what specific outcomes do you support? If no, why not?

Yes. I fully support getting people out of their cars and onto bikes and walking trails. Increased Transit options will enable people to ‘ditch the car’ full time or go from a two car family to a one car family.

1.2) Do you support marketing tools like carpooling and school bike plans and promoting events such as bike to work week and car-free days in the town centre? If yes, what specific tools do you support? If no, why not?

Yes I support marketing efforts that encourage carpooling, bike riding or walking. But it needs to be more than just a week long promotion where people do something for fun for a while and then go back to their regular habits. When a Bus Service like the Squamish commuter is a total home-run as far as rider-ship is concerned, it is deeply concerning that a service like that gets cancelled and then we sit around and wonder why people think they need cars.

2.1) Do you ride local or regional buses on a regular basis (public transit or private carriers)? If not, what would be required for you to start taking the bus? (For example: better schedule, different routes, lower cost? Or other?)

Yes I take transit regularly.

2.2) Do you support the development of an inter-regional transit plan that would integrate services in communities from Metro Vancouver and the Squamish Lillooet Regional District (from West Vancouver to Mount Currie)?

Yes. When the Squamish Commuter started back in 2005 as a pilot project, it was hoped (at least from Squamish’s perspective) that if rider-ship proved to be successful, this would be the first step to creating a regional transit authority in the Sea to Sky.

2.3) What would a successful inter-regional plan look like to you?

A successful inter-regional plan would look similar to the Translink model, but on a much smaller scale. I would envision a bus service that runs up and down the Sea to Sky Corridor from Mount Currie to Lions Bay, with scheduling trips that would tie in with the existing bus routes from Lions Bay to downtown Vancouver. For this to be successful, local leaders in Pemberton, Whistler, Squamish and the SLRD all need to be on board. What we can’t have is an “Us VS. Them” mentality that the outgoing Whistler Council had when they decided to cancel the funding for the Sea to Sky (Squamish) commuter bus. Rider-ship was so popular coming out of Garibaldi Highlands, the bus wouldn’t stop in Brackendale on route to Whistler. Now, with the service cut, hundreds of extra vehicle trips are being made each week in place of four buses a day. We have taken a major step back to where we were back in 2004.

3.1) How would you encourage the use of more efficient standards and greener technology for new and retrofitted industries in your community?

I would lobby senior levels of government to provide tax incentives / rebates for industry to Green their business practices.

4.1) With a defined urban containment boundary, how will you ensure that all new residential and commercial development in Whistler occurs in existing developed areas, without creating conflict with nearby resource or industrial operations?

When rezoning a piece of land to allow for a new residential neighbourhood, the Council must consider the impacts of existing use of the other parcels of land in the area. In the case of Cheakamus Crossing, the Council of the day should have seen the conflict of the Asphalt Plant on the horizon and should never have allowed these two land uses to neighbour each other.

4.2) What policies do you think will be most effective at reducing our community’s impact on air quality?

The vast majority of the air pollution in the Sea to Sky comes from emissions of vehicles driving the highway. Simply put: there are too many cars on the road with the Corridor. We need Lawmakers in place that will support transit initiatives – especially ones that are already successful in getting hundreds of cars off the road on long haul trips like the Sea to Sky Commuter

Ken Melamed

Having been on the board of Smart Growth BC, I have been a big promoter. I have been supporting preferred modes of transportation in Whistler and we have set a very high standard.

I support initiatives which raise awareness and encourage behaviour change, like the Commuter Challenge.

I am a dedicated commuter by alternate modes; bike, transit, Greyhound, car pool and XC ski. The bus needs to provide a safe, reliable, and clean service. Like in Switzerland where bank executives take the transit.

I have been working to provide a viable service in the corridor for some time. To date the business models have been challenging, but there is a shared interest at the SLRD and we are committed to providing this service to the corridor.

2.3) What would a successful inter-regional plan look like to you?

It needs to work for commuters on various shifts and have a regular enough frequency during the day that people have a reliable alternative to driving.

3.1) How would you encourage the use of more efficient standards and greener technology for new and retrofitted industries in your community?

I helped organise and air quality meeting to review standards for asphalt plants and heavy duty equipment.

We have established an UCB for Whistler and adopted an RGS which concentrates development in existing nodes

4.2) What policies do you think will be most effective at reducing our community’s impact on air quality?

Transportation is the highest contributor and the first priority is mode shift.