This project should not go forward in its present form. It is a colossal waste of taxpayer money. It needs to be staffed seven days/week due to the lift bridge and it only serves a minuscule amount of people at a rundown marina.
A marina that has many derelict sailboats that will never see blue water again.
The cost to build this white elephant is estimated at $5 million with a yearly operating cost ranging between $170,000 to $300,000 (not my figures – the council’s). There is a simple, effective solution that can also be an interesting tourist attraction for Squamish. A water taxi similar to the Granville Island water taxis. Charge a nominal amount to offset the operating costs and you have a functional attraction that Squamish residents can be proud of.
Lyle McKenzie
Squamish
Editor’s note: Asked about this, the District sent the following response:
In addition to connecting both sides of the Mamquam Blind Channel at Victoria Street, the pedestrian bridge will link residents of SEAandSKY (formerly Waterfront Landing), Valleycliffe, Hospital Hill, the St’a7mes community, and downtown Squamish. The new pedestrian bridge will also provide downtown residents and visitors with access to the new Waterfront Park that is being developed as part of SEAandSKY. Both the pedestrian bridge and Waterfront Park are being funded by the developer.
Pedestrian bridge operation, including operating and response times, will be governed by a set of parameters that have been approved by Transport Canada and authorized under the Navigation Protection Program. These parameters will be in effect for a period of at least one year.
In order to ensure compliance, the District is expected to have a bridge operator located at or very near the bridge during the summer and winter operating times in order to meet the required 10-minute response time. Outside of these operating times, the bridge operator may be on standby, able to respond within 30-minutes.
After the first year of the bridge’s operation, the District may submit a request to Transport Canada to review and adjust these parameters based on data collected during the first year. It is expected that the labour requirement may be significantly reduced and that access for marine users will be provided on an “as-needed” basis, with some variation in response times and procedures depending on the time of day and season.
Detailed information related to the pedestrian bridge can be found at squamish.ca/pedestrian-bridge.
Staff will be presenting council with the latest on the bridge on April 12.
