The Heights revisited I thought it might be time to take my foot from my egg-cov- ered, reddened face, but ] was wrong. _. However, | stirred up a few worms when I kicked the can around Pemberton Heights a few columns back. On May 17, this column took a look at the oddities of Pemberton Heighits, stomping _grounds of mine some time ago. I mentioned, in an FYI manner, that some people had a few differences when deal- ing with the awkward inter- section of Keith, Cortell and Pemberton, and a “by defini- tion” resolution was put forth by yours truly. _ Never content to leave well enough alone, I chose to “mention that recent changes to the road structure of Pemberton Heights was a - ‘direct result of “you people,” _~ meaning the residents therein. 7 My, did the letters arid calls come in... 'S.And thus ¢ begins ‘our story. Several residents of. _ Pemberton Heights a cannot “use. the word “many” or.” -“most”) feel that they were vnisrepresented by then-MLA °*. David Schreck when it came és to the closure of the Lioyd “Avenue access to and from ‘. -the Upper Levels Highway. | This closure, as it turns out, is - “a contentious issue with heat- ed. feelings on both sides. i. Closing the Lloyd Avenue on/off Highway 1 lanes was” "not the totalitarian, unilateral ” decision of that “terrible” MLA, as some have nearly persuaded me to believe. Rather, it was a studiously made decision designed to lesson highway vehicular traffic using Pemberton Heights as a quick access to Marine Drive and/or an avoidance of Westview Drive congestion. I do believe that said clo- sure was an already-festering- band-aid contrivance to gain favor with a select assem- blage — typical sleaze/politi- cal tactics (which backfired). The members of the South ‘Lloyd Avenue Closure Committee (yes, that’s SLACC) were desirous of a ‘quieter, safer neighborhood (a fine idea} where kids could play hop-scotch in the street - (a fine example of poor par- enting). ; * SLACC was studious enough | to anticipate a then up-coming survey and deliv- ered wordy pamphlets throughout the neighborhood in an attempt to sway. ncigh- - bors into a closuie decision. The Pemberton Heights Coimmunity Association (PHCA), unfortunately apps ars to have been: a day : hardtop. Manufacturer’ s sug- gested retail prices for the TJ “ape as follows: base $16,600, *' Sport $20,220, Sahara™ The Mot sare ath remov- . able and the interior. can be». ‘hosed down thanks to. drain “Some things haven't changed nuich. The ‘standard 120 horsepower. S-litre ORV: four-cylinder . “) minor refinements. -/°- - ‘These are’ good, torquey ; ‘engines that provide reason- . ably quiet and stnooth opera- tion on pavement while -. © offering lots:of grunt when going off-road. I prefer the’ _ inline six "because, of its : effortless power. =. aA five-speed manual — transmission, with easy - throws, is star; dard equip: ment. while 2 three sheet ., automatic transmission is . opticnal. ; Part-time four-wheel- ; drive with shift-on-the-fly u to 80 km-h (560 m.p.h.) is : also standard. The shift iever’. is located on the. floor to the: : left of the transmission _ shifter. Four wheel anti-lock : brakes re available asan - option. ; ‘The. Ti is ‘gvailable i in “three trim levels: base, Sport ‘and Sahara witha soft- “top | or . $03, 085. My well-equipped Sport model came to $25,105. holes in‘ the map ‘pockets and | late and a dollar short. | was faxed 20-odd pages of corre- spondence, memos and peti- tions dating back to 1993 and, in spite of a few excel- lent argunients, they read like propaganda for the nearly ambivalent: yes, the changes made adversely affected dri- vers living in Pemberton Heights; yes, problems began to occur at the Keith Road access ramp between Capilano Road and the TransCanada. Please note, also, YouPeople ail (in the majori- ty) agreed with the following dreaded “compromise”: The closure of the entrance to, but not out of. the Heights via Lioyd Avenue was the first, best solution to an obviously growing traffic and safety problem. Remember, also, that sev- eral of YouPeople chose to be total boneheads by reversing down the Heights’ Lloyd on- ramp (while it was still open) rather than travel a little fur- ther and deal with yet another poorly designed interchange. (Yes folks, these YouPeopie entered the Heights via a highway on-ramp, back- wards!) Did those YouPeople expect this to be allowed? Was this your version of sit- down protest? (Boncheadedness aside, I sympathize with any/all of YouPeople who had to deal with the eternally clueless Minister of Transportation and Highway Minister Jackie” - Pement: but she’s so far gone now she’s jurassic.) Keep in mind, all of By the way, ‘there are lows . of interesting accessories for ‘the TJ available through‘ - “your Jeep/Eagle dealer, such - as rear bicycle-carrier,: winch, light bar, tonneau _ cover, and tubular bumper, YouPcople. that your roads were built by scatterbrains decades ago who had no vision of the megalopolis that the North Shore was svon to become. Quit your damn squab- bling. You are a Neighborhond, after all. Need you the definition of the word? Didn't Sesame Street do it for you? Be neighborly. You all live in nice homes because of your neighbor- hood. Sure, some of Yo uPeople are upset: You didn’t get a fair shake. Sure, some of YouPeople were misinformed (as I apparently was, when it comes to stats, at least). Sure, Schreck was a mali- cious bonehead. But, hey. he’s gone; your neighborhood is quieter: you're. learning to be more astute drivers (the hard way, for some); your kids are safer (please stop let-" ting them enjoy hop-scotch in public/designed-for-cass - streets) and, at the very least, your property value will dou- ble in the next 10 years. Sorry for making a collec- : tive lump out of YouPeople, but I do wish some of you...” would find something signifi-, cant to whine about. 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