Editor:
I assume that column space restrictions explain the unchallenged assertion, attributed to Town of Gibsons staff, that the use of Kearton Road as an access route is a "novel" concern for the town (Coast Reporter, July 6).
Popular culture tends to shift the meaning of words over time, but as far as I know "novel" as an adjective doesn't mean "10 years old" unless a publisher is repackaging a dead artist's works.
In 2002 the Land Reserve Commission (now the Agricultural Land Commission) reconsidered an application to subdivide an ALR parcel north of Fircrest Road.
The Commission had previously declined on the ground that subdivision would limit the property's agricultural potential, but "after reviewing the proposed extension of Kearton Road" (and supporting letters from the Ministry of Transportation and SCRD), "believed that the proposed road alignment would make the property difficult to manage as a single unit and therefore has allowed the property to be subdivided into two parcels along the proposed road."
As Max Walker from MoT wrote, "the proposed road" (along Kearton in area E and east to Shaw within the town) "would provide local traffic with an alternative to the Sunshine Coast Highway, thereby serving the public interest by reducing congestion and conflicting traffic movements, thus improving highway safety."
Next time, your reporter might ask at the town office to see the relevant documents and note the date of the stamps that say "received - Town of Gibsons." And maybe he'd have space to compare the SCRD's recent thoughts about Kearton Road with its past expressions and decide where the novelty lies.
David Stow, Elphinstone
