3- Sunday, duly 3, 1988 — North Shore News TRANSIT OPERATOR QUESTIONS EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPABILITY epot THE PROPOSED B.C. Transit depot move from North Vancouver to ‘Burnaby will negatively affect the North Shore’s emergency response capability, social and economic welfare and B.C. Transit’s finances, Fred McCormack told North Vancouver District Council Monday. In a presentation to council, transit operator McCormack, who said he was speaking independently of his union, explained. that emergency response capability would depend on bridge access if the depot move goes ahead. “Would a major disaster in the area prevent use of the (Second Narrows) bridge? Would accidents on the bridge permit ready, access By LIZ JAEGER Contributing Writer to the North Shore?’”’ he asked. “The farther west that a serious mishap occurs, the fess effective out-of-town buses will be in the time of need.”’ Stability of the transit ' “service would also suffer, McCormack HT ! BEACHES REMAIN CLOSED Hunt for pollutants intensifies THE SEARCH for the pollution source that has: closed Deep Cove’s Panorama Beach to public swimming since June 10 is intensifying as the beach’s fecal coliform count continues to rise. North Vancouver District engineers have. begun - scouring sewer pipes surrounding the beach with: television cameras and have conducted dye. tests on the sewer line ‘that: runs through Panorama Park between. the Deep Cove Yacht Club and the government wharf | in. an attempt to locate possible cracks or leaks. John Bremner, director of’ the district’s engineering department, said all district sewer pipes and all four ‘district sewage pumping sta- tions in the area have been check- ed. “And so far,” he said, ‘all tests have proved negative.” Bremner said the district was now getting down to a real ‘belt and suspenders” examination of the Panorama Park sewer line. Another dye test of the pipe had been scheduled for Thursday. “But it’s extremely frustrating, and.I ‘share the frustration of the residents,*’ Bremner said. ‘‘We have a problem, and we should be -able to find it.”” Panorama’s fecal coliform counts, have gone from 270 units per 100 millilitres of water when it was initially closed, to’ 404 last week, to 600 this week. | Beaches in the Greater Van- couver Regional District are con- sidered. unsafe for swimming if fecal coliform exceeds 200. In addition to Panorama, Eagle Harbour Beach in West Vancouver also remains closed. The latest col- iform count, according to’, the ‘North Shore Health Department Thursday, was just over 200. Bill Kimmett, senior health in- spector for the North Shore, said the department would not reopen the beach until! itis sure coliform’ readings are well below 200, Eagle Harbour was closed June 17 when its coliform count hit 220. Both Panorama and Eagle Har- bour have suffered from chronic coliform pollution over the past four years. ., Panorama was closed in 1985 and 1986; Eagle Harbour has been closed every year since 1985. ~“West Vancouver, engineers repaired a leaking sewer line in the Eagle Harbour area in, April, but By TIMOTHY RENSHAW .. News Reporter coliform counts jumped again two months later. Like their North Vancouver District. counterparts, they are conducting ongoing tests. of all sewer fines in the Eagle Harbour area, : Kimmett said health’ department inspectors are now virtually certain that the source of Eagle Harbour pollution, is. urban runoff ‘being carried into. the bay by Eagle Creek. But while pollution at the West Vancouver beach appears to be levelling off, pollution at Panorama continues’ to rise. The initial theory held by the health department was that heavy tains had washed © land-based pollution into the beaches via area creeks. ‘But weather since the original closure has been relatively dry, and tests on the: creeks have all. in- dicated low coliform readings. Kimmett said the steady col- iform increase indicates sewage is seeping . into Deep Cove from a specific source.: At Monday night’s district council meeting, Ald. Ernie Crist suggested Panorama pollution was being caused! by the hundreds of ‘people who regularly visit the area with their.dogs and allowed them to defecate freely in Panorama ‘Park. But while’ he conceded dog feces might contribute to Panorama’s pollution problem, Kimmett said they were unlikely to be the main source. _ Bremner said boats in Deep | Cove could be responsible for the © coliform pollution, ‘‘but really we’ just don’t have any evidence that’ supports that theory.’ ’ Kimmett agreed that nothing has indicated boaters to be the pollu- tion culprits. i He said boat clubs ‘regularly ad- vised their. members not to flush toilets while moored or docked in harbors. '“*They are very well aware of the problem,”" he said. ove said, ‘‘with too many citizens left standing too long on street corners waiting for buses which do not ar- rive.” He cited interference from Pacific Nationa! Exhibition traffic: and Cassiar Corridor construction. “A single lost load from a semi-trailer on the bridge could potentially wipe out service long enough to have the whole town fate for work,’? McCormack said. “Lesser accidents might dislocate schedules less dramatically, but the effect of these could also damage public confidence in transit, and add countless more automobiles to the daily press on. already Business ...........-.. Classified Ads.......... 34 Doug Collins........... ) Comics. .'. Editorial : /Page......... . 6 ‘Fashion... ........008. Lifestyles La eeee Le eeenee Mailbox... TV Listings..... Travel . What's Going On........ WEATHER Sunday through Tuesday, mostly cloudy with chance of showers. Highs near 19°C, Second Class Registration Number 3885 overloaded streets. The possibility of replacing a broken down bus would vary directly to the condi- tion of the bridge.”’ McCormack claimed’ there would probably be a greater turn- over in transit employees because of a lack of familiarity ‘with the North Vancouver area, and there would be an economic and social loss to the community through op- erators moving from: the com- munity. ; “While B.C. Transit might reap a benefit now from moving | fo Burnaby,"* McCormack said,. ‘in, the long run, greater costs of Grad ride service rotested operation will erode this benefit and. contribute to the need for: higher fares and/or taxes."’ As a viable alternative, McCor- mack suggested the Lloyd Avenue facility used by West Vancouver Transit be expanded. A merger within the Greater Vancouver Transit System of the North and West Vancouver transit operations would be more effi- cient, he concluded. Transit management is expected ‘to make a presentation to district council July 11, outlining rationale for the proposed move. ; called a success AT I LEAST 2,700 graduating high school students, in- cluding those from West and North Vancouver /schools, took advantage of the Ride of Your Life service offered recently by corporate-backed, volunteer ambulance atten- dants: The off-duty Provincial Ambulance Service’ attendants transported tipsy teens from party to party over nine. even- ings between the end of May and the end of June. Organizers have termed the pilot program, provided for the. first time this year to Lower Mainland communities, a resounding success and hope to expand -the program to include additional communities next year. Locally, cars were provided by Dave’ Buck Ford and gasoline was donated by Chevron. Drivers were fed free of charge by McDonald’s restaurants, and both cars and drivers were insured / for free by ICBC, | In addition, Ride ‘of Your Life drivers were plugged into a central dispatch system via cellular tele- phones donated by B.C. Cellular, Manning the’ Lower Mainland dispatch operation, which was based at the Provincial Ambulance Service dispatch headquarters. in Vancouver, were Vancouver-based ‘ambulance attendant Don Hagen, Bowen !sland-based Bob Babcock, and Richmond-based Jeff Burko: _ «The three dispatched 15 cars to j Hillside Secondary and Argyle/ Secondary school students during’ the 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. red-eye shift of the last evening of the opera- tion, June 29. The North Shore’s other high schools used the service June 24 and 25. Over the course of the nine, ‘days the free service was offered, am- « bulance dispatchers handled ap- proximately 100. calls per shift from all over the Lower Mainland, ’ couver, By MICHAEL BECKER . News Reporter Cars on the road were allowed a maximum of three passengers. Said regional dispatcher Vicky Gulliford, ‘‘It/went over extremely well. According to the guys out in the streets, /the kids were really nice. They were really appreciative of the service and were extremely patient.’ While the popularity of the pro- gram may be measured in terms of the number'of. requests made by students, the true success of the preventative program is tougher to pin down, ; Said Hagen, ‘‘The success of the program will never really be known | because. we . are saving fives.’ /The response has been over- whelming,”” ‘Burko. said. ‘‘We’re trying to remove the drunk drivers ‘from the road and avoid tragedy so that they can enjoy the events.”’ The service was most in detitand at midnight when formal grad functions wrapped up. “The kids would move from party to. party throughout the night,’’ Burko said. In all, North and West Van- Squamish, Richmond, Maple Ridge, Delta, Port Moody, New Westminster, Ladner, Sechelt and Gibsons were served this year * by the Ride of Your Life program.