Cruise ships could help rebuild our economy
Can someone explain to me the irresponsible, political decision to keep our ocean ports closed to cruise ships?
This continued closure will be the absolute cause of the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars to our economy. The federal government tells us that we need at least 70 per cent of people fully vaccinated before we can freely move about or open our borders.
Carnival, Holland America, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity cruise lines all have a 100 per cent vaccine mandate for cruises in Alaska. Cruise ship passengers are 100 per cent vaccinated! Their onshore spending will immeasurably assist our devastated tourist industry.
Remember this unfair, insane policy, when voting at the next federal election.
Patricia Coulter
Victoria
Trudeau, the feds and the cruise-ship debacle
From all that I can remember from the reporting, the cruise-ship debacle is solely on the shoulders of Trudeau and the feds.
They flatly refused all reasonable solutions proposed by the industry, even to the point of disallowing cruise ships anchoring offshore in Canadian waters for a few hours to accommodate the Jones Act.
Considering this hard-nosed and unfriendly attitude, it is no surprise that the Americans would respond as they have.
They never really needed us other than as a technical stop so we have only ourselves to blame if they don鈥檛 come back.
Once again we see how high-road and rigid idealism does not serve the people well.
Rob d鈥橢strub茅
Victoria
Show our best face to woo cruise ships
What an absolute disaster it would be if the cruise ship industry bypasses Canadian ports on their way to Alaska from Seattle, never to dock at Victoria鈥檚 Ogden Point again, a huge financial hit to our economy for all time.
Is there another reason they might be thinking that our ports are a no-go zone? There is public awareness by even this industry that Victoria is having quite a time with controlling a crime wave of stabbings and violence causing fearfulness to our peaceful citizens in the city鈥榮 shopping areas.
It is also quite possible that these ships may hesitate to drop their passengers off to expose them to these dangers when they only want a peaceful shopping experience.
Sirens and ambulances are a constant and frequent sound that never seems to let up. I have talked to many people who will never go near downtown because they don鈥檛 feel safe any more. What do we expect what a tourist will experience?
This is Victoria, a beautiful city of flowers and pleasant people. Or is that 鈥渨as鈥�? Our reputation is on the line and suffering.
Time to take our city back to how it should be, not scare our tourists away! We must show our best face to those who want to come back and have a cup of tea, smell the flowers and shop till they drop, not literally. We can do it. We must.
E.C. Jewsbury
Saanich
Cycling network is the way of the future
We often see pieces in the sa国际传媒 written by those who claim to be avid cyclists but would appear, from their opinions, to be anything but.
A recent such writer criticized and called wasteful various cycling projects in the City Of Victoria. It is perplexing.
In my role as a mayor and as a year-round commuter cyclist, I engage often with cyclists. I have yet to meet one who does not feel that overall the improvements in Greater Victoria to cycling infrastructure are a significant step forward. Most feel we have a long way to go across the region.
The vast majority of funding for these projects comes from a federal gas tax grant that municipalities receive. These funds can only be used for capital projects and there are strict limitations on how the funds can be used.
Cycling infrastructure is an encouraged use. So, to term the expenditures 鈥渨asteful鈥� is again curious. There is no direct cost to local taxpayers, how can that be wasteful?
Especially when we are creating a network throughout the region that supports true multi-modal forms of transportation. That is a goal we should all be striving for and is certainly the way of the future.
David Screech, mayor
View Royal
Bike lanes not built for those who complain
Please, no more comment pieces or letters from those who identify as avid or longtime cyclists and then go on to declare the Richardson or Vancouver bike lanes as unnecessary, wasteful, a solution to a non-existent problem, and so on.
They are not being built for them. They are for those who are reluctant to bike downtown without an All Ages and Abilities route.
These writings are akin to those from white males who opine that affirmative action initiatives are unnecessary, wasteful, and a solution to a non-existent problem.
John Farquharson
Victoria
Think we have waste? Look at those driveways
I am willing to believe that there is significant unmet demand for greater access to Victoria鈥檚 streets by bicyclists, skateboarders and scooterers, etc.
It would be irresponsible for our municipal representatives to fail to invest in the appropriate infrastructure, given its potential impact on carbon emissions and the fact that it is now standard planning practice in cities throughout the developed world.
The resistance to bicycle lanes stems partly from perceived loss of street parking. Oddly, this is often in areas where both street and driveway parking is available.
If I were looking for mis-utilization of resources (some call it waste), I would look to those many streets with street-parked cars and empty driveways.
I can鈥檛 imagine that municipal politicians have the will to withdraw the free street parking that they have, over time, inadvertently provided.
However, as we buy electric vehicles to replace our gas guzzlers and then realize that the charging cords don鈥檛 reach the curb, maybe those bike lanes out near the middle of the road will then become quaint reminders of the past.
Don MacRae
Victoria
No more negativity, let鈥檚 celebrate what works
There is no sense in trying to change the minds of folks who are firmly against infrastructure for bicycles.
So I鈥檓 writing to those who celebrate that our taxes pay for services and facilities that create a vibrant and safe community, meeting widespread needs even though not all facilities are used by all taxpayers. Thumbs up to you.
I鈥檓 addressing you who are open to the encouragement of quieter, cheaper, healthier and more equitable modes of transportation than the automobile. Thumbs up to you for understanding the potential and the necessity.
Thumbs up to the people who bike for recreation and discover unexpected freedom, and the joys of birdsong.
Thumbs up to bike commuters, and those who use long cargo bikes with buckets for seating kids and transporting all manner of goods.
Thumbs up to adults who accompany little tykes on their own little bikes. Likewise, to the older gentleman riding on the Galloping Goose with an elderly woman enjoying a back seat on a bike intended for that purpose.
They build 鈥渃ommunity鈥� and make me smile.
All of these cycling citizens deserve to feel and be safe when they ride. Thumbs up to courteous drivers, who respectfully share road space with growing numbers of us on fewer than four wheels.
And importantly, thumbs up to Mayor Lisa Helps and council for having the courage and foresight to plan and build for a more sustainable and healthy future 鈥� something we on this vulnerable planet all need to be working toward.
Gail Meston
Victoria
Didn鈥檛 see bicycles? Now, that鈥檚 scary
It is very interesting that drivers aren鈥檛 seeing bikes on Richardson Street.
I ride my bike on Richardson every day between Richmond and Kipling Street. In the last two days I saw 10 bikes, not including my own.
Car drivers who lack awareness of bicycles is one reason protected bike lanes are needed so badly.
Steve Dove
Victoria
First the bike lanes, then the sidewalks
What a profound observation from the letter-writer regarding spotting a single cyclist on Richardson Street.
I recently travelled along Admirals Road and didn鈥檛 spot one pedestrian on either sidewalk. The solution is obvious: The two sidewalks should be removed and another car lane installed.
Applying the same logic, the empty on-street car parking spaces and empty car parking lots can be removed too, they鈥檙e obviously not required either.
Thank you for enlightening the readers on this logical thinking for building infrastructure!
Blake Crouch
Esquimalt
Affordable option closes its doors
It is sad to see the White Spot on Douglas Street close.
Being fans of the Victoria HarbourCats and before them, the Victoria Seals, as twice a season visitors from Qualicum Beach, the dynamics have changed.
It was convenient to book into either Paul鈥檚 Motor Inn or the City Centre Hotel, eat at the White Spot and walk to the ballgame.
Cities change and that part of Victoria has evolved to suit the reality. Three affordable options have disappeared.
On the bright side, we have the new Nanaimo ball club in the West Coast League to support.
Thanks for the memories, Seals and HarbourCats.
Blair Burrough
Qualicum Beach
Esplanade closure makes little sense
I have seen some ridiculous decisions made by councils in the name of cyclists and pedestrian safety to the benefit of only the few in the past few years, but the decision to close Esplanade to traffic has to top the cake.
Willows Beach has been an integral part of Oak Bay and enjoyed by people from all over Greater Victoria for more than 100 years.
What is the cyclist/pedestrian accident and death rate that could have been so large on Esplanade to prompt such a closure?
People have been locked away for over a year due to the pandemic, and now Oak Bay chose to limit access to the beach people enjoy!
How is it possible for families, people with disabilities and the elderly to get down to the beach by walking? How can anyone to carry all their beach gear and young children on a bike or a bus to get to the beach?
What will Oak Bay do when residents near Willows Beach complain about everyone parking in front of their house? Will all of Oak Bay be closed to all but local traffic?
People are not going to stop driving vehicles. In 10 years the majority of people will be driving electric vehicles. They are better for the environment, but still vehicles and they will need places to park.
Greg Parr
Victoria
When trees are gone, they will not be back
I am 82 years old, getting on for a human but hardly more than a sapling to the real old timers of our forests.
Our ancient forests provide invaluable habitat, massive carbon sinks, irreplaceable recreation and rejuvenation opportunities for humans, and a unique tourist attraction for the business community.
I am at my wits鈥� end. We know the sa国际传媒 Liberals would sell any public resource for a mess of pottage, and so we elect New Democrats who promise to preserve our tiny fraction of remaining old growth, and Greens to push them, and yet they betray our trust time and again.
What else can we do? How can we persuade the NDP to keep their election promise to implement the recommendations of the old growth panel?
I am constantly reminded of the Simpsons episode in which Homer dreamt that he shot the last buffalo, and then broke down and wept for their loss.
Will our leaders similarly grieve the loss of the ancient forests when they鈥檙e gone, or will they just just gloat over the stumpage and the few, temporary, jobs that they traded for their irreplaceable heritage?
Perhaps they will rename our island Ancient Forest Island, the way developers often name their projects for the things they destroy in building them.
Once the old trees are gone, they won鈥檛 be coming back. Even if this overheated civilization collapses, as it may well do, they won鈥檛 be coming back for many lifetimes, if ever.
Caspar Davis
Victoria
Old-growth logging might make sense
When old-growth trees die, they add large amounts of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. Decomposition releases the CO2 absorbed during hundreds of years of growth. In biology, it is called the carbon cycle.
Protesters on the Island demand an end to all old-growth logging. But my suggestion is that they should support the harvesting of very old trees before the trees die.
The carbon in the wood from those trees would remain fixed in houses, furniture, guitars, etc., and this could be another step against global warming.
M.J. Platts
Oak Bay
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