€ - Friday, March 12, 1999 — North Shore News

Four for

four of them know better than
the rest of you: so they decided
for you.

A slim majority of four North
Vancouver District council members
decided Monday not to pursue the
concept of direct democracy; not to let
the rest of the district have a say in
how they want to be governed.

Let’s remember that council was
not voting on whether to allow refer-
ends to be called on council issues by
5% of registered voters. Rather, coun-
cil debated whether you should be
allowed in November to indicate your
preference for or against the concept
of direct democracy.

By rejecting the request of its own
task force to put the question of direct
democracy to such a non-binding ref-
erendum, the four chose to embrace
the status quo of government by rep-

north shore news

VIEWPOINT

resentation. A surprising move from a
council that is far ahead of most oth-
ers in the opportunities it offers for
public comment during council meet-
ings, community consultation on local
issues, and public input on district
issues.

But perhaps that is all window
dressing. Perhaps the appearance of
democracy is more important than
actually giving its citizens control of a
tiny rein that might, just occasionally,
stop a council from running away
with an issue.

One of the reasons offered for
denying district citizens a chance to be
heard was that not many people
seemed interested in direct democracy.

Perhaps that is true. If it isn’t, let
Mayor Don Bell and Couns. Trevor
Carolan, Glenys Deering-Robb and
Janice Harris know how you feel.

DONE, ALRIGHT ALREADY |

Not the ticket to
positive policing

Dear Editor:

It became quite obvious to me last week that the West
-Vancouver police are not interested in building a positive
community presence.

My experience with the police force occurred when |
stopped my car, left blinkers flashing, in a yellow zone to
make a quick withdrawal of funds from the Canada Trust
banking machine on 17th and Marine Drive. It was early
morning. I admit I was in a yellow zone but | was not block-
ing traffic, there was no parking in the whole block and [
work in Dundarave and was in a hurry but needed money.

The bank machine faces ento the steeer and I was three
feet away from my car for as long as it took to withdraw $60.
T turned around from the banking machine to find a West
Van police officer putting a $35 ticket on my windshield.

He certainly had to rush to finish writing out the ticket
before I turned around. He « As so close co me that he could
have spoken to me without even raising his voice.

Instead his attitude was one of alec and siitigness.
Nothing like being ‘n the cighr place at the cighr rime! fam
not arguing the fact that Twas in a no parking space and
would have expected a parking ticket if 1 had, indeed, parked
there, but I doubr Erook more than three minutes to with-
draw my funds. The whole instance left me with an extreme-
ly unpleasant feeling and [ question the pettiness of this sort
of action on behalf of the West Van police. Is the $35 more
important to the municipality than building relationships?
S. Cameron
West Vancouver

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tas
in Boll
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Transit relief in sight for N. Shore

YOU read it here first, possibly:

Transit fans, especially West
Vancouverites and Lynn Valley residents
who feel like going to a travel agent if
their destination is the SeaBus terminal or
Lions Gate Hospital,
hear this: relief is finally
in sight.

The Greater
Vancouver Transit
Authority (GVTA) is
planning a new North
Shore bus service that
actually crosses artificial
municipal boundaries
and dissolves the sense-
less separation of the
West Van Blue Bus sys
tem from the Rest-of*
the- Lower Mainland sed bus system —
and the systems” separate unions.

Target date: December.

That unofficial information. comes
from within the GVFA, which takes over
the Lower Mainland’s transit system trom
BC Transit on April 1.

Clearly the GVTA, under ebairman
George Puil and former Vancouver city
manager Ken Dobell, gave high priority
to ending the absurdity that has thwarted
North Shore transit riders for decades.

The new fine is a vague, looping dou-
ble-ended arrow on a recent GVTA map.
But it will ran from somewhere in West
Vancouver to Lynn Valley. The latter, as
residents will heartily attest, currently is
poerly served by public transit.

And it’s ludicrous -— almost torture
for those who are sick, feeble and/or
older outpatients, or who are aged visitors
of family members or friends — that from
much of West Van they have to take three

PETER SPECK
Publisher
985-2131 (101)

Terry Peters
Photography ‘anager
985-2131 (160)

Classified Manager
S86-6222 (202)

Comptraiter
985-2131 (733)

Entite contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press Lid. All rights teserved.

buses to get to North Vancouver’s Lions
Gate Hospital, which serves the whole
North Shore.
The SeaBus, a real transit triumph and
the best tourist value in town, is currently
also a non-starter for
West Vancouverites
travelling to and from
the downtown heart.
Once I took it from my
harborside office, which
is 30 seconds from the
SeaBus terminal in the
old CPR station. Once.
Never again. It rook
two buses atter the
SeaBus and 90 minutes
ro get home.
{n-contrast, | can rapid-
ly walk the many blocks to the 250 bus
cerminus beside the Post Office and be
home in 65 minutes, door to door, on
one bus.

My impertinent advice to senior
GVTA officials was to run a North Shore-
wide service from Deep Cove to
Horseshoe Bay or even Lions Bay, with a
stop at the hospital and maybe SeaBus
too. But they replied that few transit rid-
ers travel from end to end on our shore.
That’s why the eastern terminus of the
new line would be skimpily served Lynn
Valley.

This plan would disappoint those who
envisioned an independent municipal bus
service for the whole North Shore, but
ofter a fir compromise.

That was the dream of North
Vancouver District’s transportation, plan-
ning and advisory committee headed by
Allan Orr.

The big question: Would the buses on

this new inter-municipality line be blue
(West Van) or red? I think E know. Bur
torture wouldn’t get it out of me.

34900

Dear me, Was there a personal shaft or

two hurled at me at West Van council on
Monday? No mind. I'm fair game. And I
can’t remember the last grudge [ held. OF
course my memory is slipping (as a cer-
tain North Shoreite can attest — we had
a lunch date last week and enjoyed it
greatly, at separate restaurants. Oh, it’s a
Jong story ...)

200

Always glad to otter advice ta con-
sumers.

If vou regularly patronize the Park
Royal Car Wash, you probably know what
[ discovered last Saturday — when I spent
an hour and a half getting my car through
the line:

You can choose the bare-bones car
wash, without frills, for $8.95. Or vou
can choose from a menu of individual
add-ons such as vacuuming, glass clean-
ing, and even (for 95 cents) “fragrance.”
Or you ean get all the bells and whistles
at the “manager's special” price of
$16.95, marked down trom $19.95.

Choose the basic $8.95. It’s not just
better value but, more important, far
quicker.

“Let me get this straight,” I fumed —
profanely, I confess — to the self-identi-
fied manager, “you can pay almost twice -
as much and be in the lineup —”

“Twice as feng,” he finished the sen-
tence for me, untlappingly.

Never mind whiar followed. Just
observe the numbers above, ustess you
have more time and money to spend than
I have.

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The Morth Shore News is published by North Shore Free Press Ltd., Publisher Peter Speck, from 1139 Lonsdale Avenue North Vancouver, 8.C., V7M 284