Editor:
Following on recent letters on the subject of highway congestion and how to alleviate it, I have a suggestion I’ve not heard mentioned thus far.
I propose a Park and Ride system, with a dedicated parking area in Sechelt where people living beyond our limited bus routes could leave their cars and take the bus to the ferry or specific points between.
Yes, this will cost. For acquiring or leasing land, for buses and additional drivers. But what’s the alternative? To build a new highway might reduce local traffic, for a while. It would cost big bucks, with completion many years distant. Meantime we pay in other ways: ferry overloads and a full parking lot, ever-increasing highway congestion and crashes with their attendant delays and costs for police, emergency care, highway maintenance, and more.
The more people move here and see no alternative but to drive, the harder it will be to get them (us) to use the bus, and the higher the costs for setting up an effective alternative to driving.
Do we want the Sunshine Coast to become like the Lower Mainland, where after decades of dithering, there is still no rapid transit by road or rail up the Valley, and from Chilliwack west, Highway 1 is now known for chronic congestion and frequent crashes?
The Transit system currently has 18 Park and Ride lots, from Bowen Island and Lions Bay to Mission, ranging in size from six spots (Bowen) to 1,471 (Scott Road, North Surrey). Operated by Transit or the local municipality, many are free; others charge from $2 to $3.75 per day. Open times vary from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays to seven days a week; locations include a rec centre (South Delta) and a mall (Park Royal North).
It’s time to set up the next Park and Ride, on the Sunshine Coast.
Sheila Weaver, Gibsons
