Sign Our Online Petition
Kevin Falcon - Minister of Transportation
John Furlong - Chief Executive Officer, Vancouver Olympic Committee
Jacques Rogge - President, International Olympic Committee
Joan McIntyre
David Emerson
Barry Penner
"It's easy... just sign your name to this online petition and add some of your own comments if you wish."
I am opposed to the British Columbia government's plan for a 2.4 km overland highway for the first section of the Sea to Sky highway improvement project. I am writing to request that your government reconsider this decision and instead either build a 1.4 km, 4 lane, divided tunnel, or simply straighten and widen (add a third lane) to the existing 2.4 km highway from Horseshoe Bay to Pasco Road. Either solution would preserve priceless ecosystems, recreational hiking trails, and protect the visual beauty of one of the Lower Mainland’s most important gateways, while being much safer than the overland route. If all costs are factored in, including all land related costs, the final price of the overland route and the tunnel would likely be close. Adding the third lane would likely save the taxpayer $100-$150 million.
A 4-lane highway would devastate Eagleridge Bluffs, the Larson Creek Wetlands and the Baden Powell Trail. This is an area that your government has identified as having the two most sensitive ecosystems in the entire Sea to Sky corridor. It is the gateway to the Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island, Sea to Sky country and Whistler. The destruction of this environment breaks your promise of a "Sustainable Olympic Games, the greenest games yet”.
While the tunnel is considered to be the best long term choice, simply widening the existing highway bed is also a viable alternative to destroying the wetlands and bluffs. Several sections of the existing Sea-to-Sky have already been successfully widened and straightened. The Ministry of Transportation has said construction costs for the 2.5km overland route will be $130 million. In comparison, the successful widening (by two lanes) and straightening of a 1km highway test-section north of Pasco Road cost only $11 million. The same technology could be used for the stretch of highway above Horseshoe Bay, saving taxpayers millions of dollars and preventing the destruction and permanent loss of a highly valuable ecological and recreational treasure that thousands from the Lower Mainland and beyond come to visit and enjoy every year.
Considering the cost savings in construction and land expropriation, combined with the environmental value of the bluffs and wetlands, it is astounding that the government insists on the overland route. If short term inconvenience during the construction period is valued above long-term loss of wildlife habitat in our society, I have some rethinking to do with regard to my values and how the government I elect reflects them. It is also incredibly frustrating that despite the opposition of the BC Ministry of Environment (WLAP), Environment Canada (Canadian Wildlife Service), the Ministry of Transportation’s consultants (Robertson Enviro Services) the Mayors and Councils of North and West Vancouver, the Greater Vancouver Regional District and thousands of residents, the government continues to stand by this hasty, ill-conceived decision.
I implore you again to reconsider! The 4 lane divided tunnel or simply adding a third lane to the existing highway, are viable options that do no harm to the incredible values that the overland route destroys.
Please do what is best for
British Columbia and
choose one of these alternative routes.
NOTE (May 16, 2006): After you click "SUBMIT" you may be taken to an error page. Please do not re-submit your entry, as it is actually being recorded on our petition list. The petition site should have this technical glitch resolved shortly. Thank You so very much for your time and support! You are helping make a difference. Please go ahead now and fill out the petition!
Sign petition
If you'd like to write your own conventional letter to any of the above recipients, please use the following addresses:
The Honourable Gordon Campbell
Premier of British Columbia
Parliament Buildings, Rm 156
Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4
The Honourable Kevin Falcon
Minister of Transportation
Parliament Buildings, Rm 306
Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4
John Furlong
CEO, Vancouver 2010
Suite 400 - 1095 West Pender Street,
Vancouver, B.C. V6E 2M6
Jacques Rogge
President, IOC
International Olympic Committee
Château de Vidy
1007 Lausanne
Switzerland