Editor:
As I read the various pro letters, re a bridge to the Mainland, a road to Squamish and The George Hotel and review the ongoing drama of Gospel Rock, I can only shake my head in wonder.
Wake up people. We live on a peninsula; effectively we are on an island.
Unless you were born here, you came here of your own free choice to live, to raise your family and to work, because you saw something special about it, be it nature, ocean, low real-estate costs, small town life, whatever.
If you now think we need to pave 30-plus miles of mountain so you can drive to Vancouver in two hours, perhaps just move two hours east of Vancouver. If you think we need a bridge so we can become an extension of West Vancouver, perhaps you should just move to West Vancouver to enjoy all their perceived advantages.
If you think The George is going to bring long-term benefits to our economy, you are likely mistaken. There is no compelling draw for conferences to make the extra trip here, certainly not between October and May. A conference/hotel centre built today will most likely be converted to fully residential housing within 15 years.
And if a conference centre/hotel does make sense, why build it on the waterfront anyhow? Why not use the land that the town offices and community health unit are on - they don't need ocean view or waterfront proximity. Perhaps move the town offices behind the recycling depot or onto the next available clearcut; that should serve as a good daily reminder to the people who operate Gibsons of the Town's true priorities.
Ultimately, growth for growth's sake is never a great idea - it works until it doesn't work anymore. Building on the waterfront, to the primary benefit of a select few, is just plain stupid.
Alan Donenfeld, Gibsons
