Us e seabr in wal safety 0 of fog proved ishap BC Transit adopts ‘action plan’ following i inquiry BC TRANSIT chairman Eric Denhoff said Tuesday that the corporation has begun to implement new safety procedures in the wake of a Jan. 6 collision ‘between the SeaBus and the Canada Place pier in heavy fog. _ By Michael Becker News Reporter As reported in the Feb. 3 News, an independent marine legal ex- pert determined the cause of the collision to be human error on the part of the master and. mate operating the vessel at the time. The BC Transit ‘action plan” entails: @ better procedures to determine the location. of vessels present in the SeaBus area of operation; .@ an improved automatic soun- ding of vessel foghorns; @ regular refresher courses for SeaBus deck. officers using radar and the global positioning system; ® improved navigational aid pro- cedure -—- radio, radar and foghorn —- with other vessels in the SeaBus operating area; : @ briefing SeaBus masters and mates about the factors con- -” tributing to the mishap; . @ reiterating to SeaBus staff the : importance of following directions 44 The BC Transit investigation did not determine why the SeaBus had gone off course in the first place. 99 issued by the master when aboard a SeaBus; @ meeting. with the Canadian Coast Guard and the operators of the harbor vessel traffic control centre to work out a way to elim- inate a radar “blind spot’? near Canada Place. and the south SeaBus terminal. The BC Transit investigation results were issued prior to the findings of an investigation into the SeaBus crash being conducted by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. But said Denhoff of the BC Transit timing, ‘“The SeaBus goes out every 15 minutes basically, all day every day. “We understand that the trans- portation safety report might not be here for s¢veral months. “*It was our view that the public might have questions in their minds about the, safety of the SeaBus given the accident and that they had a right to know that we had some sense about what went wrong and that: we’re fixing it,” he said. But Denhoff said the BC Tran- sit investigation did not determine why the SeaBus had gone off course in the first place. “T can’t give an explanation, and J haven’t yet seen anyone give an explanation. I don’t recall see- ing anything in the evidence pro- vided.” The January SeaBus crash in- jured several passengers and caus- ed tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage to the vessel. Said Denhoff, ‘‘We have com- pensated a number of people and we have made arrangements for the insurance adjusters to meet. ‘with the people who were injured and to provide them compensa- tion. There weren't any injuries that could be categorized as serious in hospital terms."* Friday, February 5, 1993 — North Shore News —- 3 NEWS photo Nelt Lucente STRIKING NORTH Shore Taxi employees make their views, known on a sign outside the company’s offices. The B.C., Labor Relations Board has rejected an application by the union to have replacement workers banned. See story on page 1. Jistrict residents demand ice rink Hockey popularity pushes re- -examination of Parkgate centre plans SEYMOUR- AREA residents: ' “night's North Vancouver District descended on standing committee mecting to, tell council that the Parkgate Civic Cenire pro- ject should include an ice rink. Still in the planning phase after four years, the Parkgate project is a multi-use community centre. : Proposed facilities, estimated .at between $8 million and $9.5 million, include: / © a. two-storey tibrary corinected y'a walkway to a recreation ven- tre/community building housing a multi-use. gymnasium; @ arts and crafts studios; @ meeting rooms; . o ‘and. a youth owing with daycare The district library board has already. written to council express- ig dismay that the project’s de-’ velopment permit, has‘ not been ssued and that the architects have been instructed. to ‘stop the design drawings. . ‘*We cannot emphasize enough’ the. need for a new library in the Seymour “2rca,’’ outgoing library board chairman Colin. Lawrence wrote in a Jan. 21 letter. The “library.. board ; wants the. :" Parkgate library to proceed even df the recreation centre ' proposal i is North. Vancouver ockey. Association vice-president Dan: Morrison told council that ‘we feel that this is the’ wrong fa-,. i. but- he suggested that an earlier- lity.” wo, \ ~ Morrison, who ‘was also repre- enting organized ice users and a roup of Seymour-area residents, resented council with a petition ontaining over 3,000 signatures asking for an ice rink that he said y had: been collected in- only a few Gays.. " He ‘told council that. the ressure’.for ice time was unbelievable’ and growing. variously: - .-demand for Seymour area between 1985 and‘ Minor: By Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer Morrison said parents in the area: were camping overnight to get their, children a place in orga- nized hockey. =~ “We would like council to re- evaluate the Parkgate proposal,” Morrison said to. applause - from the gallery. . The North Vancouver Recre- ation Commission re-affirmed as recently as Jan. 21 “that the pro- posed facilities at Parkgate,: in- cluding the gymnasium, are in line with the long-term requirements of Seymour....’’ Recreation commission director Gary Young told council that the | decision to build a gymnasium be- © fore an ‘ice rink was based on demographic studies begun in 1985 and checked as recently as 1992 with the Seymour Facilities “Review Committee. Young. said that predictions indicated a dip in the ice facilities in the 1995, with. an ‘increasing demand expected :to ‘build between 1995 and 2010. Young maintained ‘that forecasted dip in use materialized, than-anticipated demand ‘for ice time had been generated in part - by the success of the Vancouver Canucks and the arrival of sports heroes like Pavel Bure. Director of planning and devel- opment services Richard: Plunkett told council that the 43,000 square feet (3,995 sq.'m) allocated to the recreation/community. wing could accommodate an ice rink instead. Monday | ‘towards an_ ice ‘population . the . ‘NORTH VANCOUVER DISTRICT COUNCIL But Coun. Ernie Crist said a more logical location for any ice rink would be adjacent to recCen- tre Ron Andrews, Coun. Jim Cuthbert agreed, pointing out that an appropriate electrical capacity already exists at the recreation centre. Crist said he would support construction of an ice rink and told Seymour residents, ‘Fight for the ice rink, and the community centre. Don’t divide the communi- ty.” Coun. Rick Buchols said he had always objected to the childcare wing because he didn’t believe - that the municipality had a re- sponsibility to deliver such - ser- vices, only facilitate them. ; “There are other gyinnasiums; there are not other ice rinks. We can’t have everything, and given that we can’t we should be going tink,’’ said Buchols. Coun. Joan Gadsby agreed. She asked whether the district could afford the $1. million cost for the youth wing and suggested that the gym should be looked at in terms .of a shared facility with North Vancouver School District 44, ‘ ' Capilano Athletic Health Club. “This project needs a rethink. It is not what’s acceptable to the community,” said Gadsby. Coun. Paul Turner also urged. council to endorse joint planning with the school district. “Our planning relationship with them is so shallow. that I. ‘can’t even find minutes on. any /joint meetings,’’ said Turner. He acknowledged that such an’ approach would slow the process down, but he argued that it was “a chance to do something. for’ our taxpayers’? and would. ‘‘save some major dollars.” ! But .Mayor Murray Dykeman - pointed out that ‘‘we are 10 years away from a high school in: that location.” * He suggested a land-use review would be more appropriate. Council agreed to ask staff for a report on the possibilities of fast- tracking the library while ex- amining costs and location for a possible ice rink. , Young asked for’ 60 days to complete a Teport: because the rec- . reation commission needs time to- assess the future. viability and ‘ac- cess Gif two private ice. sheets in the district owned by: the North Shore. Winter Club: and the Council also asked staff to’ar- range a. special meeting. with the District 44° School Board . to - discuss joint planning issues. Index Automotive ... & Classified Ads @ Ecolnfo - & Editorial Page . I Home & Garden ,. Saturday showers, Sunday rain, highs 9°C, lows 2°C. Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement Number 0087238 ' Two WV teenagers - attacked on street by carload of youths TWO WEST Vancouver teens” were attacked by armed youths in. the. 1500-block | ‘of: Marine , Drive on. ' Saturday,” Jan. 30. : . ‘According to a West. Van-. couver Police spokesman, the : incident ° occurred at 10: 40. 17-year-old males were : walking in. the -.1500- ‘block of Marine Drive when a car: containing eight teenagers pulled up nearthem. Two of, the occupants left the car and. .began® to chase. ‘the two males. One of the at- tackers was wielding ‘a: knife: during the chase. . The . pursued .. ran’ ‘to ‘the West Vancouver : ‘Police sta: ‘tion. | The - police subsequently located the suspects on 17th Street between Bellevue Avenue and Marine Drive: « | The suspects were stopped, : and the police seized three. knives, two bats and a device used to remove locks. from cars and homes. A police‘ spokesinan_ said . the suspects were from. North Vancouver ‘and Coquitlam : and were dressed in purple _ jackets and purple” ban idan- Mas. The incident is, under in- ° vestigation and charges” are pending.