Editor,
I am a resident of 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料, as well as a Canadian citizen and resident of British Columbia, and I was pleased when the dream to host the 2010 winter Olympics became a reality.
I am very pleased with how Vancouver, Whistler, Pemberton and 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 have handled hosting other B.C. residents, other Canadian residents, as well as all our international guests, athletes and employees for this great endeavour.
However, as a resident of 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料, I am disappointed in our local council's lack of support for our local and non-local visiting Olympic guests, volunteers, employees, and of course, athletes "Transit hub deals with challenges," The Chief, Feb. 19].
Specifically, very little parking is available for those people who have to ride the buses from 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 to Whistler each day, and I hear many tales of my friends and neighbours in town being ticketed, threatened to be towed away, and having to walk sometimes upwards of 10 kilometres return each day to get to the Wal Mart area bus depot, as the local buses often do not run in the wee early hours of the morning or late hours of the night that many shift workers and volunteers come home during.
The District of 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 has taken a very non-committal and at times unsupportive stand on aiding or assisting in the parking department all the many hundreds of people that must commute via the 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 to Whistler bus network everyday.
Parking for vehicles of people who have to ride this bus network is slim at best in the area near the Wal Mart and Home Depot.
We are the only district participating in the Olympics that does not have a single designated Park-n-Ride area, strange considering we a small rural town in which driving a personal vehicle is a necessity for many. As many people in town now know, Wal-Mart and Home Depot will tow any cars parked by commuters in their lots. There is very little alternative for parking elsewhere as parking is not allowed on most of Industrial Way, all of Discovery Way south, all of Commercial Way, all of Queen's Way, and, most recently, parts of Discovery Way North, towards the new Holiday Inn Express hotel.
For the first time in memory, many cars and trucks parked in this area are being ticketed by by-law officers and sometimes towed. Recently, the district painted yellow curb lines in the area near Wal Mart, and while I understand this is to reinforce safety by not allowing cars to park too close to curbs (certainly understandable), no alternative areas have been identified near the bus depot for cars to park.
I think it would be fantastic if 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 district council and bylaw, instead of threatening all the wonderful people coming to see and working for the Olympics, could find some manner to help accommodate all the necessary commuting and need for cars, whether it be to increase night time and early morning buses, or to allow some temporary parking measures, such as on Queens Way, which had enough width for four lanes but is only a two-lane road in the vicinity near the Wal-Mart bus area depot.
It would be a shame for the world to go away with wonderful impressions of Vancouver and Whistler but with tainted puzzlement or disappointment in a pettiness on the part of 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 to accommodate the Olympics effort.
It would be silly to have the great memories of the Olympics soured by a lack of parking on 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 and a souvenir of parking tickets and towing fines.
Johanna Jenkins
Garibaldi Highlands
