Editor:
On Sept. 1, I attended the raucous council meeting about Davis Bay. First of all, thank you Coun. Warren Allan for doing a bang-up job covering for the missing mayor. It was overwhelmingly evident that people do not want Davis Bay messed with at all. There's no need to destroy it with a left turn lane, traffic light, street closures, property expropriation, removing memorial benches, trees, plantings, and much-needed parking spaces. This is not the answer to traffic problems.
The answer was repeatedly called out by the angry mob - put the money towards a bypass. Coun. Alice Lutes made the comment that even if there was a bypass, we would all still use the scenic route through Davis Bay. However, the logging trucks and the many semis that deliver goods farther north, time is money, and they want to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Commuters who have to get to the ferry terminal in a hurry or people who have appointments in Gibsons or Sechelt would also use the bypass. A lot of the traffic problems in Davis Bay would be eliminated, simply by reducing volume.
Money is also urgently needed to widen the stretch of highway between Davis Bay and Sechelt. Cyclists come to the Sunshine Coast from all over, sometimes in large groups. They risk their lives on that narrow stretch of highway, as do pedestrians. The lack of bike/pedestrian lanes is a safety issue far greater than reconfiguring Davis Bay.
This is our community. We know what we need, but it seems that MOTI's stand on doling out government money is: use the money the way we think is best, using our plans, or you don't get it at all. Sounds like blackmail.
Cecilia Ohm-Eriksen
Selma Park
