Commuter Y Dear Editor: A mamber of readers’ letters over the past few weeks have endeavored ‘to. make a. case for:commuter rail service between Whistler, Squamish and Vancouver. Recent contributions by Peter ‘ Buitenhuis (Dec. 6) and Lorraine "Fisher (Dec. 10) suggest that com- muter_rail-‘service..would offer a more environmentally friendly alter- Native to road travel and significant- g relieve congestion on Highway agree wholeheartedly thai from. an environmental point of view, rail : transportation’ of either people ‘or freight wins hands-down over road * haulage. That’s just one of a number of reasoris why BC Rail continues to ing out that the mekine Fadusery i is: i by governments: who . ild, maintain and police the road-. ays, while railways have to factor ‘building, repairing and Price of fares and cargoes.” et Be saving’ 10 News. ) i from. th ; ‘people have. spoken. |” rail. yards in ‘the. off track operating subsidies thereafter. With no hope of a retum on the investment, I suspect that's an opportunity B.C. taxpayers would as soon leave alone. Even in densely-populated European and Asian countries, com- muter transit systems are heavily; - subsidized. [t's most unlikely that: the sparsely-populated Whistler- : North Vancouver coriidor could sus- ” tain the kind of service sought: by your coirespondents and even were ‘wit to exist, it would likely have little, . ‘discernible effect on the number of cars on the highway. A final point: I disagree with Ms. Fisher’s assertion that passenger ser- vice has declined in recent years, and it is both unfair and inaccurate for her to suggest that this is some- how related to the appointment of _ BC Rail’s current president some six years ago. Since Mr. McElligott's. appoint- «ment, hundreds of thousands of dol- _lars.haVe been invested in advertis- ing and innovative marketing of the ing ; their. tracks: into the a "and on-board service. BC Rail ‘enjoys. no such subsidy for any, of; its_operations, however. - service, as well as upgrading of cars For. marketing purposes, BC. : Rail’s passenger service has been re- ; positioned” as. part of the B.C. ° -.' tourism experience, rather. than asa _ means of trarisportation from A to B. In view of poor year-round rider-,_ . ‘ship that prevailed to that point, it is entirely. possible that the passenger service would not have survived at ~-all had stich action not, been taken. "Barrie Wall 2. . Manager, Public Affairs sin ithe -province ish’ Columbians pal : through ther tanking input should * decide how they want their commu- nities shaped and if it means saving the’ Mountain forest so be it, the On Jan. 19 [have been invited as a guest on the Rafe Mair radio show and one of the topics of discussion Lonsdale to ‘Pemberton _ Will be; what is wrong with govern- department alongwith ail” heir. staff, . ali’ the folks..at ‘North er City. hall, Mr, ( putting as ree noi: | Thanks to: ‘ou kind folks. ment. today. EF will be using the Mountain forest’ and the desire of local residents being challenged in + the Supreme. Court by government » departments as an example. “The sad fact is the taxpayer will be paying the bill for the Supreme Court: challenge brought forth by CMHC, It seems no matter how you look at it the real problem, with govern- ment today is.that we have no gov- ~ emment of the people, we have have “government. for government only and we are left paying the bill. ~ Larry! Gillanders’ : : Leader, - BC Social Creiit What's happening in our District Public Hearings on: 6 Zoning Bylaw Amendment @ Subdivision Control Bylaw Amendment ublic Hearings are scheduled to provide an opportunity for Council to hear from those who believe their interest in property may be affected by changes to these bylaws, as outlined below. . Tuesday, January 16, 1996 7:00 p.m. a ; ; ; Council il Chamber, Municipal Hall; 355 West Queens Road, North Vancouver, BC Date Time: Location: Applicant: Earl's Restaurants Ltd Subject Land: 2000 Block Curling Road (Lot 1 Block. 15, DL 764, ‘Plan 10846) as shown on the n : map below. To rezone the subject property from Tourist Contiinercial Zone 4 ( ca fo Proposed: General Commercial Zone 2(C2). Amendment To allow for the development ofa three storey offic ice building which Earl's: _ Purpose: Restaurants Ltd. is proposing to occupy as their corporate, headquarters, NYS I’ a | 3 y =| 5 2 S 5 ER a: s a : Applicant: J.V. Butterworth 4625 Strathcoria Road (Lot B, Block 18, District Lot 575, Pian 2778) e. Subject Land: To amend the Subdivision Control Bylaw to establish lot size _ regulations attributable only to the lot at 4625 Strathcona Road. 4 To allow for the subdivision of 4625 Strathcona Road into two lots. Proposed Amendment: Purpose: All persons who believe their interest in property may be affected by the above proposals will be afforded an opportunity to be heard in person and/or by written submission. Written submissions will be accepted up to the conclusion of the Public Hearings. These Public Hearings are held under. ves the provisions of the Municipal Act. : Copies of the bylaws, resolutions, supporting staff reports and any relevant background material are’ ‘ available for review at the Municipal Hail in the Legislative Services Department or Planning’ Department, 355 West Queens Road, North Vancouver, BC, Monday through Friday, except Statutory He, idavs, January 5 to January 16, 1996 inclusive, between the hours of 8: 30 a. a.m. and 4: 30 p. m., Agnes's: Hilsen ' Deputy Municipal Clerk