10 - Friday, December 2, 1988 - North Shore News $350,000 RESTORATION PROJECT Park and Tilford Gardens open again to the public THE WORLD renowned Park and Tilford Gardens scheduled to reopen Sunday, Dec. 4 in all its former floral glory after nearly three years of going to seed. An integral part of the new Park and Tilford Centre shopping cen- tre, the gardens were originally developed by Canadian Park and Tilford Distilleries Ltd. in 1968. They quickly became one of the North Shore’s distinctive land- marks, attracting an estimated 300,000 tourists annually. But the gardens were closed in 1984 following the closure of the Park and Ti!ford distillery and left to deteriorate until the property was acquired by BCE Development Corp. (BCED) in 1987. BCED has since invested $350,000 in restoration of the gardens and an additional $100,000 in a new gardens light display. Special Christmas lighting, one of the traditional attractions of the original gardens, will be featured at the new gardens from Dec. 4 to Jan. 6. Though its configuration has changed, the overall size of the gardens is virtually the same as the original, which was just under two acres. Peter Arbuckle, BCED’s general manager of shopping centres, said revitalization of the gardens was an extra expense for the corpora- tion, but constituted an exciting part of the overall shopping centre development. “You need something a little different to attract people,’ he said. Lanskai! announces new transit budget WEST VANCOUVER. Mayor and chairman of the Greater Van- couver Regicnal District Transit Commission Don Lanskail recently announced that the commission has recommended a $312.2 million 1989-90 operating budget to the B.C Transit Board of Directors that will provide improvements for HandyDart and conventional bus service. The figure represents an eight per cent increase over the current $289.2 million budget, and is based on using $300.5 million to main- tain existing service and $11.7 mil- lion for service improvements. The commission is also recom- mending a capital budget of $28.4 million, which includes $20.6 mil- lion for the purchase of 100 buses and $2.6 million for the second phase of the radio installation program in buses. Included in the proposed service improvements would be expansion of HandyDart services, which cur- rently fall far short of demand, providing only three trips per month to each of its 13,600 regis- tered users. The current service also does not provide transporta- tion for special needs preschool children. The recommended budget therefore provides for a 37,000- hour increase in service to the disabled and elderly at a cost of $980,000 and service to and from preschool program centres for !20 special needs children at a cost of $480,000. In addition the budget would allow for improvement to conven- tional bus service along major transportation corridors at a cost of $9.48 million; improved transit marketing to attract new riders and provide an on-street information system ($510,000); and an en- hanced traffic-checking program in which traffic checkers provide information needed to produce the annual service plan, locate poten- tial inefficiencies and identify unmet demand. The traffic-checking program would cost an estimated $250,000 and employ 10 part-time checkers and two summer students. Lynn Vattey Centre Admin: 980-9354 1189 Lynn Valley Rd. info: 980-1082 is The gardens, he added, also provided an extra ingredient of fun for shoppers. The refurbished gardens follow the origina! concept of a series of outdoor rooms, each with its own floral and architectural character. Six rooms make up the new gardens design: the Rose Garden, which has been replenished with 280 new plants in 24 varieties; the Oriental Garden, with its pines, bamboo and azaleas all pruned in oriental fashion; the Colonnade Garden, which features flowering magnolias and s Dawn Redwood, the gardens’ Christmas focal point; the Greenhouse Garden, with a lathehouse for hanging basket- displays and an aromatic herb gardeu; the Native Garden, which features West Coast flora; and the new Display Garden, which will feature seasonal annuals and in- clude a special gardens restaurant. The gardens will become an in- tegral part of Capilano College’s Applied Landscaping/Horicultural program. “I think everybody is looking forward to the reopening of the Park and Tilford Gardens,’’ North Vancouver City Mayor Jack Loucks said Monday. The official lighting ceremony for the gardens is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Dec. 4. Fox ski jacket for just $75. for $125. 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