6 — Friday, April 25, 1997 — North Shore News Powertul “YORTH Vancouver City is entertaining the thought of developing a district energy system for a redeveloped portion of the Lower Lonsdale area. It’s a for- ward-thinking example of urban infrastructure design at its best. There are benefits to be derived from high-density living. The supply of heating or cooling energy from a centralized system to a number of sur- rounding buildings is one. It’s not new technology. The _Romans circulated warm water through trenches to heat buildings and baths at Pompeii. . What's new for us is a municipality : willing to explore an environment- : friendly option. It’s-no secret that Canadians are world-class energy gluttons. We suck ‘up lots of resources, > The creation of a district energy _— Leonard Otto, of West Vancouver. oO . “2: SWe feel his will be the most important fight for freedom of speech; it is vital that it is won, If we cannot speak freely, what will be next? Doug Collins has always “said all the things that most of us think.” me — Sara Reid, of West Vancouver. oe O00 . “Tt ts absolutely appalling that this is even bappen- Ing in our “free country.” All around us we see so many of our freedoms that we take so much for granted being eroded little ty little, and it is downright frightening” a — Paul and Thelma Lade, of North nn : Vancouver. Donations to the North Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund can be sent to the News offices, 1139 . Lonsdale Ave., North Vancouver, V7M 2H4. Cheques ‘should be made out to the North Shore News Free Speech Defence Fund. ee — trenshaw@direct.ca forth shore. north shore news NEWS VIEWPOINT system would be an energy-efficient step in the right direction. It’s a capital intensive outlay at the outset, but the long-term benefits are many. The system would require a central source to generate thermal energy, a . distribution network and a subsystem to transfer thermal energy at building locations, The city could choose to operate the service as a municipal utility, enter into some sort of public-private part- nership agreement or give the job to a utility company. ¢ If the city decides to take a leader- ship role and proceeds with a central- ized heating system for a Lower Lonsdale neighborhood it will send a strong signal to the region: North Vancouver City is committed to play- ing its part in improved air quality and energy conservation. Budgets, bridges and automobiles ALLONS, citoyens de West Vancouver! _Wake up and smell the coffee being drunk around your council’s dragged-out budget meetings. Do not ask for whom it is being brewed. It is being brewed for you. Do not dismiss the above figure of speech as mere journalistic glibness. Your taxes are not a glib matter. Those budget meetings are being dragged out because this is a new, tough council genuinely unlike the more com- placent ones of the recent past. Councillors are rigorously going through the budget and demanding answers from the bureaucracy. [tem by slogging item. Line by agonizing line. In your interest. You have approximately rwo weeks to speak your mind before the budget is set in stone. You are going to be hit by outrageously higher local taxes unless you get on the phone, on the fax, and down to council meetings. The figure that’s been hoisted is a 9.5% rise. That's fantastic. And you know that a frequént government ploy is to float bad-news numbers that are absurdly high and then settle for a lower figure that it was secretly planning on all along. The spin is that the citizenry will be relieved or even grateful, imagining their out- cry has made a difference and that “your gov- emment has listened.” . So that, in this case, you would be delight- cd if your West Vancouver tax rise was “only” %. Hear this: Some of your councillors also . have a number in mind. And it is zero. No rise at all. Wort: Store Haws, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper anc quafified under Schedule 111, Parag raph 111 of the Excise Tax Act, is published each Wednesday, Friday and Sunday by North Shore Free Press, Lid. and distributed to every door on tne North ‘Shore. Canada Post Canadian Publications Mail Sates Product Agreement No. 0067226. Human Resources Manager Sales & Marketing Director Mailing rates avaiable on request, Distrbution 906-1357 (120) 61,562 (average ciculation, Wadeesday, Friday & Suny} ia.ligus, is published Ay North Shore free. Riaes, Ud, Panahs PASS he: serintan = seeaist cee rae PP ah iar ae PE PE PETER $8S-21381 (177) SU-G511 (31) 985-2131 (101) se5-z131 (139) Peter Xvernetromn Display Manager 928-0511 (163) Be assured: Millions of dollars could be cut. My guess is that this movement is being led by the hard-headed Victor Durman and the hard-working Bill Soprovich. But I could be underestimating the contributions of two other newcom- iz Byrd. And no Or Shoald ever underesti- mate the role of council’s Grey Owl, as Denny Boyd calls him, Allan Williams. Politicians are — surprise — human. If they detect public indifference, they will react indifferently. But, at the local level where th aren't lackeys of party discipline, they will stiff- en their spines if they have public support. There are some stiff spines on this council. Get behind them. Now. Or don’t whine when the bloated tax bill arrives in the mail. 000 So many big topics, so little space. A new/old crossing to replace/revamp Lions Gate Bridge: Transportation and Highways Minister Lois Boone has — after multi years of multi proposals — narrowed down the criteria and asked for new proposals. The criteria: The province will kick in a measly $70 million. Additional costs would have to be paid by private enterprise and recovered through tolls. Surface traffic on the causeway through Stanley Park must be “reduced or eliminated,” meaning a tunnel from near the park entrance to the new/old garden of biases LETTERS 70 THE EDITOR Letters must include your name, full address & telephone number, VIA Internet: trenshaw @ direct.ca Beug f ] shou Comptrolies Managing Editor 985-2131 (116) / anc pe Promotions Manager 205-2131 (218) Classified Manager 9886-6222 (202) Entire contents © 1997 North Shore Free Press ttd. All rights reserved. interuet- http://wens.asnewn.com bridge — ata fantastic $200 million! North Shore politicians instantly, and right- ly, denounced as discriminatory. The sug- gested toll of $2 would add $1,000 a to the costs of daily commuting. As I drily nore from the reaction of Vancouver friends, hey, that’s not a bad toll — if someone else is pay- ing it. . My final choice, based on the financial real- ities: Shave a fourth lane out of Stanley Park to widen the causeway. Convert Lions Gate Bridge to an over-and- under bridge. Two lanes above, two below. No shutdown of the bridge required — first build the new deck, then repair the old. No tunnels, period. No toils, period. No messing up present neighborhoods — no years « of local lobbying and howling. The minimalist solution. It won’t happen. The fanatical Stanley Park lobby and the perennially-negative Vancouver « park board would go listic, They would rather put people under- ground for maybe 1,000 yards through the park at an incredible $200 million than cura. tree. They would rather hide the . - single magnificent drive through the park and the grand vista of the approach to the North Shore mountains from tourists’ and com- muters’ eyes and go underground like moles. ‘They are nuts. 0900 T know it’s spring when North Vancouver's Autoclassic holds its auction. This weekend, -_: Seaforth Armouries. Be_there! we — The North Shore News believes strongly in freedom of speech and the right of all sides in 2. debate to be heard. The columnists published in the News present differing points of view, but... those views are not necessnrily those of the news- paper itself. , Real Estate Advertising Classified Advertic'ng | 985-2131. 980-0511. General Office Manager 985-2131 (114) COS-Z131 (105) Andrew MeCradis - Si i 985-2131 (47.