Editor:
We do suffer in our transportation system on the Coast; it originated mainly by locals creating a north-south corridor following the lay of the land. However, we have to think carefully about what we ask for. Do we really want the Sunshine Coast equivalent of the Upper Levels Highway in North Van? There is actually a plan that I found from decades ago and that is what it is. In Roberts Creek there would be three ways to get across it from the lower to upper creek – they don’t put intersections on highways.
As an alternative we could consider actually creating a road network so that all traffic doesn’t have to use Highway 101. We practically force all traffic onto the antiquated 101 and then complain about the traffic danger. With one property I used to own in Roberts Creek, to get to the neighbour that I shared a boundary with required a five-kilometre drive. Down the mountain, on the 101, and back up the mountain. In the case of an earthquake or a major forest fire there are numerous points where, if the highway is blocked, there is no bypass for emergency services or evacuation.
Rather than a mega-project so ferry traffic can get to Sechelt at 100 km/h we could focus first on much-needed upgrades and maintenance to the present highway, which is filled with blind hills and corners, no shoulders and with residential driveways everywhere. Then we could look at developing more alternative low-speed routes farther up Elphinstone, which I will admit won’t be cheap because of all the creek gulleys involved requiring bridges. I still see this as a viable and more useful alternative compared to a half-billion-dollar highway.
David Kelln, Roberts Creek
