Mee - “not occur in the future. : : leave the highway and end wy WV residents petition for extra barrier dan-Christian Sorensen Contributing Writer ¥F it happened once, it can happen again. That's Glen Dixon's fear. The West Vancouver resi- dent lives near the Cypress Creck Bridge where -16-year- old Nick Downs died in an early morning car crash May Downs was travelling along, the eastbound lane of the Upper Levels Highway when the silver Mercedes he was dri- ving struck a concrete divider and launched over the bridge, plummeting some 300 feet (91.4 m) to the creck below. Dixon, whose Rockridge : Crescent house is less than a .-. quarter mile from the accident site, is preparing a petition to have a waffic barrier erected along the highway to help ensure that another crash does He’s another. car could very well concerned that «im a-neighbour’s backyard, where children could be playing. -.. “Since we’ve been in this house there have been six fatalities and there’s crashes all the time,” said Dixon, who has a six-year-old daughter. “You get ferry waffic coming out of Horseshoe Bay and the Whistler traffic and they’re all poking along and when they get to the four-lane... the cars are really rolling. It’s a very busy! road. “They're talking about getting the Olympics in and it’s not going to get any slower. The: number of vehicles is going to increase.” » . i: The.current concrete highway dividers — called “32-inch fo poss — are designed to catch an out- of-control vehicle: and deflect it back into its part of the road instead of allowing it to cross the median and land in a streiun of oncoming traffic, “Dixon would liie to see_a reinforced concrete fence erected to prevent cars from leaving the road. However, the: ‘Vest Vancouver police officer in _No plans approved yet, councillors say ger of flying golf balls to childrén who would be playing in nearby fields andthe rare plant vegetation that would be destroyed in the realignment. “But both councilors Bill’ Soprovich and Victor Durman reiterated that council had not yet approved the committee’s plans. eS, Lo Durman, ‘a former, Eagle Ridge Drive resident, said. Marine Drive’ realignment would mean the municipality would gain an additional onc acre of flat land; isolate the BC Hydro area, decrease the steepness of Eagle. Ridge Drive for vehicles and, most importantly, decrease the chances of accidents involving children crossing Marine to get to. the recreation centre. -. Several residerits who supported the realignment of..Marine Drive were greeted with thunderous applause and cheers. . 4] ‘cannot understand the opposition made inst’ moving. the’ road,” said resident Jeff Peterson. “1 should not represent us.” ; ; =. Although all residents who spoke at the meeting supported the.creation of a recreation facility in the area; several were concerned over the suggestion of introducing a housing development in the plans for the area... . , . : “Nobody has ever thought of putting condos on the golf course,” Durman said, adding that the indi- cation of possible housing ona display map was only one ‘of several options that would be presented to ouncil. we ; Ca : The municipality has already spent more than $4 million to purchase 6.7 acres of BC Rail land plus an dditional 15 acres for trail dedication located near je golf course. Los f council approves the committce’s proposal, the éalignment of Marine Drive will begin by the end of Noversber with construction of the recreation cen- tre‘ slated for early next year. From pagel - ey (GARA) are not elected by us and charge of the investigation into the Downs crash said that if a car is travelling at an excessive rate of speed — as he believes Downs was doing at the time of his crash — no fence would keep a car within the barri- crs. “When the speed gets up to a really high level there’s absolutely nothing that’s going to keep it on the road,” said Const. Cal Shamper. “Depending on the size and weight of the vehicle it could probably punch through (a concrete) wall.” While the official accident report will not be com- pleted for weeks, Shamper said that Downs likely exceeded the critical curve speed — the maximum speed a vehicle can handle a corner and still maintain enough friction between the tires and the asphalt to stay on the road. Before Downs lost control of the car, he had to navigate two quick bends in tic road — one to the right followed by a curve to the left. NV Gi parking exp Anna-Louise Pentland Contributing Writer PARKS and ecgtes triumphed over more parking for the fim industry in North Vancouver City on Monday night. Peter Leitch, vice-president and general manager of Lions Gate Studios, lost his bid to build an addi- tional 40 parking spaces at the expense of more land for Sunrise Park in the city’s Cloveriey area. - Leitch said Lions Gate’s new 20,000 sq. ft. (1,860 sq. m) sound stage built last September has contributed more than 200 jobs to the community and has increased the studio’s need for parking. He also said that with high-profile actors coming through the studio’s doors, there has to be parking near the building to accommodate them. Leitch said the extra parking would be needed to “maintain our status as the premier studio in the market.” But Don Pullen, president of the Cloverley Resident’s Association, said Lions Gate Studio should have looked at the parking problem when it built the new sound stage.. _He brought along a petition signed by more than 60% of area home owners. “Lions Gate Studios declined an offer from the city last year to contribute to the paving of parking spaces along Fourth Street, and in return receive preferred parking status for those spots. Leitch said the idea wasn’t clear when it was proposed by the city. : As another argument against the parking lot, Pullen said a pair of endangered red-tailed hawks had been seen nesting 20-m (66 ft.) from the site. The environment ministry recommends a 50-m (165 ft.) activity-free buffer around the nest. The Friday, May 18, 2000 — North Shore News - 3 Safety concerns follow crash NEWS photo Mike Wakefield WEST Vancouver resident Glen Dixon wants to see a traffic barrier erected on the Upper Levels Highway to prevent any future car crashes from leaving the road and ending up in nearby backyards. “He made it through the first curve but when he came up to (the second curve) he lost control and the car started to rotate to the left,” said Shamper. “Once it starts to rotate there’s really no recovery for a dri- ver when you have that much speed.” Once Dixon completes his petition, he’s planning to.take it to the municipality and the Ministry of Highways. However, ministry spokesman Dan Mayberry said Thursday that his office had been to the site and that the dividers on the Upper Levels met current high- way standards. “The barrier was to the current stan- dard and it didn’t move as a result of the accident. It did its job,” he said. “I certainly sympathize with what the residents are doing, and (the crash) has iiade quize an impact in the community, but... there are no deficiencies to be corrected theze. 1 don’t want to sound callous or cold, but (the highway) is safe at the posted speeds.” . ity denies studio ansion sighting was confirmed by city staff. The city’s envi- ronmental protection program committee also voted against the remeval of any trees. But council received competing advice from dif- ferent parts of the bureaucracy. While the city’s social planning advisory committee recommended the land in question be used as an addition to Sunrise Park, the advisory planning committee rec- ommended against changing the zoning to park fand, leaving the option of parking available. ; “The film studio is probably our Ne. 1 private employer. It generates an a lot of money.. I remember a poll I saw just before the election about issues most important to people — it was jobs,” said - Coun. Bob Feaznicy, who cast one of the three dis- - senting votes. | ; ley, however, criticized the studio for its Jack of'a long-term plan to deal with possible further expansions. | : After council’s decision, Leitch said, “The coun- cil's indicated that there’s support for the film indus- try, and I was surprised at their decision. It will have a direct negative impact (on business).” Leitch added that if parking isn’t available to his clients, they will simply take their business to one of the other studios. . . Problem with press A printing problem with Wednesday’s edition of the North Shere News result-_ - ed in delivery delays. News carriers will do their best to follow up with deliveries of the May 17 issue. The paper is also available at the News office at 1139 Lonsdale Ave. The News apologizes for any inconveniences. Speed key in fatal crash Katharine Hamer News Reporter khamer@nsnews.com THE preliminary findings of a West Vancouver Police Department traffic collision analyst indi- cate that excessive speed was the key fac- tor in the death of teenager Nick Downs. The 16-year-old died in the early hours of May 7 when the 199] Mercedes he was driving plunged 300 feet (91.4 m) from the Upper Levels Highway into a ravine at Cypress Creek bridge. Downs was on his way home from a date at the time of the accident. He was reported missing by his father at noon on the follow- ing day. Initial assessment of the crash suggests the boy was travelling well above the posted 90 km/h (56 mph) speed limit. He slammed into a 36 inch high (3 ft.) concrete barrier and the car “became airborne,” according to WVPD Sgr. Jim Almas. Downs had only had his driver’s licence for a few months and would have been required to obey a zero blood alcoho! level policy and display an “N” in his rear window. The “N” was not found with the car at the time of the crash, although with the vehicle so badly damaged it - would have been difficult to spot, said Almas. An autopsy has been con- ducted, but toxicology tesults which would reveal whether the teenager had been drinking at the time of the accident are. not yet available. a Meanwhile West - Vancouver Police are contin- uing with their own internal... -- investigation, launched last week after some. confusion ° over a 9-1-1 call from a local . resident. re Malcolm Bell reported . .. -what sounded like a serious -car crash at 1:30 a.m. on © May 7. | ; Bell says he told the 9-1-: 1 dispatcher that he thought a car had gone over the edge of the highway and crashed - into the ravine below. Almas said police were sent -to the area and “checked the highway and.- ~~ adjacent.” roadways,” but found nothing — as Beil was: told when he called police a- second time, after going out with a flashlight to. look at the area himself. The next. day, . after. Downs’ car was found, Bell again contacted. police, to - voice his concerns about the... information he had given the »- night before. Ld West Vancouver Police had no. recerding of Bell’s- call. . : : The recording system.— which had not been checked" :? since April 26 — was out of —3 order. ; igs See Investigation page 5: