6 - Friday, March 29, 1991 - North Shore News aT THISLL TAKE YOUR MIND OFF THE RESIGNATIONS... \TS THE FOR THE ANNUAL PHOTO WIT YOUR CABIN over \ ! Sw, e727: Weesrsee NEWS VIEWPOINT Breathe easy North Shore municipalities will now put some teeth into public requests for smokers to butt out in public places. On April 1, West Vancouver District becomes the last North Shore municipality to impiement its Smoking bylaw. As with similar legislation in North Vanesuver District and City, the new bylaw will be enforced by North Shore Health. According to its text, Clean Indoor Air and Smoking Reguistions Bylaw promises a smoke-free envircument almost anywhere a non-smoker migit venture. Smoking is banned in such public places as elevators, escalators, stairways, washrooms, taxi cabs and retail shops. And the onus is on businesses to ensure T OUGH smoking bylaws in all three the Baas that no one smokes in any area that non- smokers need access to. . Smokers are now relegated to the con- fines of nightclubs, bars and designated smoking rooms, leaving the majority of people to breathe without inhaling second-hand smoke. It could be good news for non-smokers, but unless the public helps North Shore Health enforce compliance by reporting violations, the smoking bylaws won’t make much difference. So the next time someone lights up in the post office queue, don’t politely hold your breath; report it. Now that we’ve got the tools to make a smoke-free environment, we have to use them. LETTER CF THE DAY Gadsby fans biocked rush-hour traffic! Dear Editor: \ As a regular North Shore com- muter, I have become accustomed to the traffic bottleneck that oc- curs most mornings at the Second Narrows Bridge. That is why I look forward (if one actually can) to Friday morn- ings, when the morning rush to cross the Second Narrows is almost non-existent. But on Friday, March 8, it was a different story. Traffic was backed up past Lynn Creek. What was the cause of this, | wondered? Publisher Managing Editor Associate Editor Advertising Directar Comptrofier North Shore News, founded in 1969 Sungay oy North Snore Free Fress Lia distributed to every coor on th Norn Snore Second Class Mai Registration Mum 2388 Subsenptions Nortn ane West Vancouver. $25 per year Maing rates avalabie on request Supmisstons are welcome put we cannol accept fesponsipility for unsakc.teg maternal inciuging Manuscripts and pmctures when snoula Oe accompanied by a SlamMpeg ancressed envelope Peter Speck Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright Linda Stewart Doug Foot gs an independent suburban NevwsnaDde! and qualibeg under Scneduie 111, Paragrapn Ml of the Excise Tas Act. 1s pupished each Wednesday. Frioay and ang An accident, a stall on the bridge or just an unusually high volume for Friday? As 1 rounded the ‘Coach House corner’? there up akead was the cause of the delay. On che right, between the freeway and the Main Street exit frolicked (now) Alderman Joan Gadsby and her group of sup- porters, all happily waving at the morning commuters, seemingly oblivious to the problem they were creating. I have long suspected that many of our local politicians had played Display Advertising 980-0511 Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Classified Advertising 986-6222 Far Newsroom 985-2131 TE ONCE DF NGITTM AND WENT MaNCOUYE BUNDAY © WEDNESDAY - FRIDAY +1239 Lonsdale Avenue, Nortn Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2H4 Entire contents ~ Distripution Subscriptions Administration in traffic as children to disasterous results. But to do so as an adult is inexcusable. Standing beside the freeway and creating a distraction, ali for the sake of vehicular gladhanding, shows a blatant disregard for safety. So to you, Joan Gadsby, and your entourage of well-meaning supporters I will review one of life’s basic lessons. Don’t play in traffic. Gary Phillips North Vancouver 986-1337 986-1337 985-3227 985-2131 MEMBER North Shore managed << LF SDA DIVISION 61,582 (average cuculahon, Wednesaay. Friday & Sunday) 1991 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All nghts reserved GDL the best thing since antibiotics! SORRY, KIDS, but collectively you had it coming to you, I guess. By the time the 1992 grad season arrives, you'll be into a ‘‘grad’’ of quite a different kind: Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL). And please don’t yet! about “‘discrimination.”’ True, you make up the vast majority of new drivers let loose cach year. But GDL will apply to all new drivers, whether they’re 16 or 86. It could be the best thing since antibiotics were discovered — for the same reason. The Motor Vehicle Branch is still working out details. But as you may have heard, GDL will mean two ‘‘probationary”’ periods for first-time driver licence appli- cants from next spring onward. First, a minimum 12 months as a ‘‘learner.”’ After passing the theory test and medical, you may drive only when accompanied by a fully licensed driver. Then, a further minimum six months (12 months unless you pass an approved driver course) with a “‘provisional”’ licence -— restricting you as follows: © Private cars only. No trucks or commercial vehicles. © No passengers unless they in- clude a fully licensed driver. © Perhaps no driving on high- ways with a posted speed over 90 km/h. © Possibly a midnight-to-5 a.m. driving curfew. If you have an accident, are caught with as much as a single beer on your breath or commit any other driving offence, the “learner” or ‘‘provisional’’ periods are extended. Otherwise, with a blameless record, you'll get your full licence after 18 to 24 months. The root of the problem that GDL will attack is pretty simple. When they started handing out driver licences to 16-year-olds, Canadian roads were vastly dif- ferent from today. Over the past 30 years Canada’s population increased by 40 per cent, but motor vehicle registra- tions soared by 195 per cent. In short, there are almost three vehi- cles on the road today for every one in 1960. So you’ve now three times more chances of hitting someone or being hit. The only answer is to drive three times smarter. Alas, it hasn't happened. The 16 to 19 age group is about eight per cent of the driv- ing-age population. In 1989 it ac- counted for nearly 20 per cent of B.C.’s crash victims killed or in- jured. That’s not smart. It's plain dumb. First-time aduft drivers may not Noel Wright HITHER AND YON be too smart either. But having more responsibilities, they do tend to play less Russian roulette. GDL horrifies some teens — especially the possibility of a mid- night curfew. ‘Would you be ex- pected to walk home from a party at two in the morning?”’ asks one. “The movies don’t get out until 12:30,”’ he adds as a clincher. Tough luck. But those conve- niences, for at most a year, are at least better than the real risk of one or more kids never going to a party or a movie again. Death, lurking on the road for its prey, doesn’t give a damn how young you are. eae TAILPIECES: Elements of Im- pressionism and the Group of Seven combine in the major display of paintings at North Van City and District hal!s and North Van provincial courthouse by the late Dr. Don Flather. Organized by his son, North Van’s Dr. Verne Flather, the show — on unti! April 17 — ranges from studies of high Arctic wilderness splendor to abstracts of the Garibaldi-Howe Sound area... Make sure your two to nine-year-olds don’t miss the North Van Lions’ big Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, Mar.30, at 11 a.m. in Heywood Park — with balloons, face-painting and clowns added to the fun... And remember tomorrow, too, is the final skate at the West Van Ice Arena (ad- mission free), with a family skate 1:30-2:30 p.m. eee WRIGHT OR WRONG: The only time on“ ever achieves perfection is when Ulling out a job applica- tion. NEWS photo Mike NO, IT'S NOT IRAQ... Just North Van City Librarian Margaret Kelly working amid the dusty mess as the Library undergoes major renovations.