OK.. HERES THE PLAN. WE DRAW A DIVIDING LINE PAST THE VILAGE, AROUND THE LAKE, THROUGH THE WO00S, ACROSS THE HE: NORTH: Shore: tunnel link to) . roposed ‘by “Massey, Vancot fe ma The Ne rth” Shore is ‘not: an isolated Dear Rditor: coon I believe that the bounds of fair ‘comment ‘have been’ passed with the, publication’ “by: the North ‘Shore... News .on” July 7, -. of Hegations by Mr. Donnelly. Int his ‘letter. to the editor, Mr. ‘Donnelly alleged’ that he could not: reach ‘me. despite’ numerous’ at- ‘tempts . at my constituency office and”: urther. that 1 -had,. at tax- payers’ expense, gone fishing. — *The “facts are that :I spoke’ to Mr. Donnelly: by phone on the. Ju- ly..l weekend. Unfortunately, nei- ther. of us was satisfi ed by our.” : “of my concern. that the’ News. would confuse the matter with the’ _issue of freedom .of speech. I ex- conversation. All of my constitiients find that~ ither: my° ‘constituency. assistant or “whole. -+ ‘and self-contained sanctuary: munity. is. integral to a ‘greater regional OK..HEAES THE PLAN... Ue oan A DNIOING LINE PAST THE BURNT CUT VILLAGE. ARIND THE MORGUE THROUGH | THE MASS bia AGROSS the com- -Private-sector “funding . will make’ the project palatable. The routing as proposed will “take ‘ pressure off city streets and North Shore bridges. .. The’. -Hions: Gate. Bridge could: be con- _-verted ' into: a: “pedestrian. nd - cyclist-only thoroughfaré Such. a “designation ‘would attract - tourists and © “relieve the . vehicular pressures, that: now “eat” away at the: heart of Stanley: Park. “We have’ ‘witnessed Some visionary “thinking. on the Part. ofan’ engineering firm.: ss their © concerns. We. might not always agree, but calls are taken and concerns are heard. The allegation’ that J had, at taxpayers’ expense, gone fishing i is not. true. Unfortunately, it has . been over five years since P ve had time to go fishing. - Everyone who knows | me is “aware that I! would never spend public monies for personal. pur- . poses. I believe that such an asser- tion constitutes a Jibel. ! Thave decided !:o sespond to.the unfair comment through this letter rather than a legal action, because ‘ Itis now time for visionary action. MLA denies. letter’ S 5 allegations - debate on what reasonable limita- tions exist to that freedom. 1 would hope that. we would all agree that the publication of false and injurious statements go beyond the reasonable limits. Nevertheless, Iam prepared to accept that-as a person in public life, I must allow for the most _generous ‘interpretation of state- ments that others would find i inju- rious, * In doing so, I hope that the North Shore. News: demonstrates editorial judgment. that shows a better understanding of what con- : stitutes fair comment. David D. Schreck, MLA SOMETHING FOR nothing (well, ALMOST for nothing when it’s something really big) always commands atten- Bridge commuters. As readers of Wednesday’s News may recall, Mr. Bentzen wants to build a super-tunnel with six traf- fic lanes plus a SkyTrain line from downtown Vancouver to some- where near MacKay Creek in North Van. ; In addition to serving the downtown core.it would also link North Shore traffic directly with . False Creek bridges via a tunnel _ under the West End. It could be completed by the year 2000. And best of all, says Mr. Bentzen, it need cost taxpayers next to nothing. » >. This apparent miracle would be" , achieved by using fill excavated for the tunnel to create a 175-acre. island just east of Brockton Point. Two-fifths would be parkland. The other 100 acres would be flogged to residential and com-.... mercial developers;’and the pro- ‘ceeds used to meet the tunnel pro- ’ ject’s estimated $I. 2 billion, - price-tag. - The creaking old Lions Gate span could then be preserved as a “theritage’’ bridge for. pedestrians, ‘foot tourists and cyclists — with . Stanley Park causeway converted toa forest trail. Everyone would be happy: commuters, developers _ and tree-huggers alike. Coming from an expert in the field, it scunds an ideal solution. . It was Bentzen who'35 years ago directed construction of the ; Massey Tunnel under the Fraser. Later, as head of Christiani and . Nielsen, the engineering multina- tional, he masterminded many ‘ major projects in various parts of. the world. No question, he knows . howtodoit. But his claims that “the project is largely self-financing, even without user fees” and that “the private sector can be expected to - respond quickly’? — i.e.; to buy- ing up the 100 development acres on his proposed new island ~ could be another thing again.” To cover, say, 80% of the pro- ject’s total cost the development | portion of the istand would have’ ‘to sell at about $9.6 million per acre. How realistic this would be if the market — especially for of- fice space —- stalied or slumped is still anyone’s guess.. Likewise, the question of how much it might cost North Van municipalities and Vancouver City to integrate their street systems with the tunnel, To ail such doubts, however, Bentzen has a fast answer: i) public money on anything aip- . =o {. tion. So meet Hans Benitzen, P. Eng., you Lions Gate HITHER AND YvON ma proaching the required seale is “available, so what is the alter-. native? If we're ever to have the: urgently needed crossing, only’! bold risk-taking by the private. sector can build it. if : With the ailing Lions Gat ' Bridge already. living on five years: of borrowed time and a ‘Brave , - threat to the entire economy, ‘of the North Shore, Howe Sound. and Whistier, where else can: we: a turn for help?” ‘ Joving’gourmets i inak down Sunday. betwei _p.m, — rain or shine —'to Waterfront Park for the nint annual Clam Chowder.Ckar hip. ... For a novel half-dai : outing try the interpretive tour ‘Pt. Atkinsen; Vancouver’s oldest: lighthouse, hourly on the hour ree am. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays”... ‘ through Sundays — call 926-3266 for further info. ... Young musi- cians (any level) .are invited to . practise all summer'with the . . North Van Youth Band — contact © Ron Smith, 929-3637, or Mrs.:: " Divis, 980-1934 for details’. ’ And a very happy 95th birthda tomorrow, July 17, to legendary‘: (Hell’s Angels, Elephant Boy, The, Four Feathers) cinematographe' Osmond Borredaile of West Van : WRIGHT OR WRONG: ‘The: trouble with democracy is that the’. only party capable of running the - country is always 0 out of office: ‘Tam always available to deal with pect: that we will continue the North Vancouver-Lonsdale . Distribution . 986-1337 Subscriptions 986-1337 985-3227 eA et) (& This newspaper contains recycled fibre Display Advertising 980-0511 + Real Estate Advertising 985-6982 Classilied Advertising © 986-6222 Fax Newsroom 985-2131 Fublisher . J., 3. ,Peter Speck Managing Editor . . .Timothy Renshaw Associate Editor. Noel Wright : Sates & Marketing Director Linda Stewart Comptroller . . .Doug Foot North Shcre News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified ~undar Schedule’ 111, Paragraph tll of the Excise - Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press Ltd. and . ‘distributed to. every door.on. the. North Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mai! Sales ‘Product Agreement No. 0087238. Mailing rates available on request. Submissions are welcome but “we cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited /Materiat including manuscripts and picturss which should be accompanied by a stamped, sell-. ‘addressed anvelope. ' 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, SDA DIVISION North Vancouver, B.C. V7M 2h THE THICK tine shows proposed. route of tunnel: from Van- couver’s. downtown ‘core via new 175-acre’ island east ' Of Brockton Point to vicinity of Maciay.Creek in North Van. ° 61, 582 (average enculalion, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday} ; Entire contents © 1993 North Shore Free Press Ltd. All rights reserved.