: _ Keith Lowe NVD waterire News Reporter mgood@usnews.com IT might seem like an ideal walk along the ocean, but many people assume the trail system envisioned in North Vancouver District's waterfront plan could result in the loss of their houses. ~To find my home specifically targeted at these meetings, | find very distastetil, and hugely undemocratic,” Shane Nyquvest told council at Tuesday's meeting. “When you target people's private property it bites at che corner of communism.” Tes been the hottest issue in discussions of the Waterfront Task Feorce’s report, which draws out a ] 3-kilometre natural route from Seymour River te Panorama Park using stretches of beach, street ends, road allowances, and sidewalks. Tuesday's meeting was council's first discussion of the docu- Ment since new members were elected last November. What has fired tempers are several recommendations that pri- vate lots near Cates Park and Strathcona Park “be acquired when Helpful West Van senior ronbed while shopping A West Vancouver senior was robbed while shopping at her neighbourhood Safeway Oct. 17. “The 76-year-old woman was at the Sateway on Marine Drive and 16th St. at approximately 11:30 that morning. She had her purse in her trolley while she shopped. The suspect — described as a stocky, medium-height Asian man in his 20s with a red zippered jacket — asked the woman to help him read the price tag on a can on a bottom shelf. While the woman was reading, the can, the suspect grabbed her bag, which contained credit cards, ID, a cheque book, and a smalt amount of cash, from the troll The woman called the poli has nor been found. West Vancouver Police Department Sgt. Jim Almas said seniors are often viewed by criminals as weak and “an casy target.” Many of their schemes are based on trickery or deceit to swindle money out of othe elderly, He suggests the following urhelp protect seniors: & be aware of vour surroundings, and be aware of anyone who appears to be following vou; @ don't carry a lot of cash or personal belongings with vou when you Zo oul travel in pairs or groups where possible. This will make you less vul- nerable; _B don't display large sums of money, especially at ATM machines; when shopping, always carry your purse with you. Never leave it unattended in a shopping trolley; . @ have your keys in hand before you reach your car, and always be wary of strangers approaching your car; # look at the inside of your car before you get in, and always lock your doors while driving; & never pick up hitchhikers; if you feel threatened, press your cai horn in repeated, short blasts to draw attention to yourself. immediately, but so far the robber — Katharine Hamer NMetion to delete mention of private land purchases denied the properties become available.” What that means, said former Watertront “Haisk Force chair Maureen Bragg, is that if property near parks or street ends is put up for sale, the council of tae time should consider buying it to extend public access. “TL teel that the word *expropriation® is being bandied around deliberately to alarm people,” she said. “fs not in the report and there's no possible way that anybody's property will be expropri- ated. That's totally untrue.” One of several people using the word was Coun. Doug MacKay-Dunn, who put forward a motion that all references to private property be deleted from the report. “Imagine if you were one of those waiting to see if your prop- erty would be targeted,” he said, referring, to the “de facto expro- A 19-year-old Capilane College student was arrested Wednesday after he brought a wooden sword to campus. The man had recently uttered threats. TransLink levy set aside Contributing Writer Directors te push capital improvement for major road net- work projects; B a call for commitment by the federal mnt access plan IT’S on to Plan B for TransLink. Withdrawing a motion for preliminary approval of a vehicle levy on B.C. drivers, TransLink directors will instead attempt to use the upcoming federal election as lever- age to extract hundreds of millions of dol- lars from Otiawa over the coming years. At Wednesday's TransLink meeting, the motion to move forward with a proposed vehicle levy based on the vehicle’s weight was withdrawn. The decision to back away from impos- ing the levy came hot on the heels of a North Shore backlash. North Vancouver City and the West Vancouver councils issued resolutions stat- ing’ their opposition to the plan. While the city supported a funding option that was -based ona system of true “user pay,” West ~ Vancouver council rejected a levy in any form. . In_ addition, West Vancouver council requested a statement from TransLink out- lining the expenditures that led to a_pro- jected shortfall and the specific steps that are being taken to reduce transit costs and increase efficiency. . “Nobody has ever questioned the busi- ness assumptions behind (TransLink’s) overall plan,” said West Vancouver Coun. Vietor Durman. “If you go out and buy a whole bunch of capital assets, knowing you ‘. don’t have the money, it’s poor planning.” - The ovo councils, however, urged the for federal funding board to approach the federal government for funds. North Vancouver District Mayor Don Bell, the North Shore representative on the TransLink board, read both coun- cil’s resolutions into the meeting’s minutes and suggested the levy be deferred. According to Bell, TransLink has agreed to provide the details that were requested by West Vancouver council. The proposed federal funding program, as approved by TransLink’s board of direc- tors Wednesday, calls for an annual conti- bution from the federal government to off- set TransLink’s need for local funding. BCAA, the BC Trucking Association and the Gateway Council will assist TransLink by lending advice and support. Beli thinks that with an election in the ofting, Ottawa might actually come through. “I think we’ve got the best chance we’ve ever had,” said Bell. “There’s been a - softening of (their) position. Before, we've had automatic refusals. Now, we’ve had them say, ‘give us more information." b ¢ proposed program, as approved by the TransLink board at Wednesday’s meet- ing, includes; Ban annual $93-million dollar federal con- tribution in 2001, to increase to $148 mil- lion by 2005; . : an annual contribution of $50 million per year, representing the federal share of government to find one-third of a pro- posed rapid transit line from Richmond and the airport to downtown Vancouver; B TransLink’s support for other lobby efforts to attain federal approval of the pro- ram; TransLink’s commitment to a reduction or elimination of a vehicle levy or other local funding source, consistent with the receipt of federal funding. A copy of the proposal wil! be forward- ed to Federal Finance Minister Paul Martin. Bell said that a TransLink delegation would like to meet with Martin in the next 10 days. . Buz Port Mocdy-Coquitlm MP Lou Sekora, whose comments at an earlier Council] of Councils meeting sparked TransLink’s approach to Ottawa, said a meeting with Martin probably could not be arranged, as the election is expected to be called Sunday. Sekora said he did arrange, however, to have Martin address the delegation through a conference call. “It’s unfortunate it’s coming to zero hour,” said Sekora. He said there is $896 million allocated to B.C. infrastructure, with the provision that 70% of it be allocat- ed to sewer, water and green programs. “If they apply, there’s a very, very good chaiice they'll be approved,” Sekora said. Beli said he would bring TransLink’s. resolution before district council on Nov. 6. Friday, October 20, 2000 - North Shore News - 3 mn track pration™ implied in the report. Only Coun, Heather Dunstord voted with his motion. Council had already decided not to begin debate on the contents of the report, but rather to indicate their priorities to staff who will sum- marize the hundreds of recommendations for later votes. Bragg said she was hoping to hear “open, honest debate,” about the report. Instead, a sting of speakers conjured images of “tens of thousands of people” tromping across their private prop- erty and of whole streets being “expropriated.” The entire trail, Bragg pointed out, uses public land. “TF was waiting for the mayor (Don Bell) to bang his gavel and correct that (notion of expropriation). [ felt it was his duty to Wwep the facts straight and show leadership,” she said. Mayor Don Bell agreed after the meeting that he should have set the record straight. “(Expropriating land) would require extremely unusual cir- cumstances and it would have to be an issue of public safery that could not be satisfied in any other way,” he said. “And f acknowl- edge that in the report the phraseology ‘expropriation” is never used, they talk about acquiring through purchase or negotiation.” Teen with sword arrested A man who turned up at Capilano College carrying a sword Wednesday morning appeared at North Vancouver Provincial Court yesterday. A college security guard contacted North Vancouver RCMP at 8:30) a.m. Wednesday after students spotted the 19-year-old North Vancouver man with the sword. The man had been heard in recent weeks making threatening cemarks towards some fellow students. He was arrested without incident by the RCMP. He was carrying a long wooden martial arts sword. RCMP Const. Heidi Hoffman said Crown prose- cutors had asked police to answer a list of questions before deciding whether to proceed with charges. _ The man remained in police custody to press time. — Katharine Hamer NEWS photo Paul McGrath Swift NORTH Vancouver District Mayor Don Bell enjoys a 7 slippery moment at the opening of a new playground: at Capilano elementary school. . : :