Tag: Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission

Connecting the ValleyConnecting the Valley

September 19, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

No matter the time of year, there are sure to be people out on the Valley Trail, whether biking, rollerblading, skateboarding, walking, jogging, or skiing. The popular multi-use trail system runs throughout Whistler and, for decades, has been used by many for both practical and recreational purposes.

The origins of Whistler’s Valley Trail go back to 1976, just one year after the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) was formed. A Rec Report prepared by representatives of the Whistler Developers Association, the Alta Lake Ratepayers Association, the Advisory Planning Commission, and the RMOW looked at existing recreation infrastructure within the municipality and made recommendations for future recreation development. These recommendations included “a main valley trail of a minimum 12 foot wide, dust-proof surface” connecting the existing recreational and community facilities and residential developments for cyclists and pedestrians.

Winter commuting along the Valley Trail. Whistler Question Collection, 1996.

This call for a trail system through the valley was echoed four years later in the 1980 Recreation Committee Report and by the Whistler Outdoor Recreation Master Plan Study prepared for the RMOW by Professional Environmental Recreation Consultants Ltd. in 1980, often referred to as the PERC report.

One reason that the PERC report prioritized the development of a bikeway was in order to make travel safer within Whistler. According to the report, “the [then] current system of bicycling on Highway 99 through Whistler is unsafe due to the heavy traffic and especially due to the number of logging and other heavy vehicles using the highway.”

To address this issue, the PERC report proposed building about 13 km of paved bikeway over five years to create a north/south spine that began at the RV campground at the south end and terminated in Alpine Meadows to the north. Along the way, the bikeway would link subdivisions and other developments, including the Village. The master plan also included plans for a Lost Lake Loop and a Fitzsimmons Creek Loop that could be added to the trail system, as well as an extension of the spine north to Emerald Estates along Green Lake.

A newly paved section of the Valley Trail heading towards Alpine Meadows in 1983. Whistler Question Collection, 1983.

Over the next four years, the Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission (ARPC), guided by its chair Trevor Roote, led public consultation meetings, passed a referendum to fund their master plan, and negotiated rights of way throughout the valley for the Valley Trail. By 1982, the trail was paved from the Village to Alta Vista and from the River of Golden Dreams to Rainbow Drive. According to Roote, the trail “immediately became a popular commuting route, particularly with school children who no longer had to ride their bikes to school along Highway 99 playing dodge’m with logging trucks.” In 1983, the trail was paved from the Village to Whistler Cay and from Rainbow Drive through Meadow Park.

Many elements of the trail system described in the PERC report are part of the Valley Trail today. The ARPC did incorporate the trail right of way into the negotiation of sewer rights of way and the general location of the trail matched much of what the PERC report proposed. The next five year plan of the ARPC (1985 – 1989) included the expansion of the Valley Trail out towards Emerald Estates. The physical design of the trail, however, is not quite as the PERC report envisioned.

Steve Martin? No, this wild and crazy guy is parks worker Ted Pryce-Jones who was out last week painting arrows and yellow lines on Valley Trail curves and bends. The new lines and arrows are designed to give cyclists and pedestrians warning and keep users to one side. Whistler Question Collection, 1984.

While most Valley Trail users are accustomed to a mix of walkers, cyclists, skateboarders and more, all keeping to the right of the yellow line except to pass (and then using their bell or calling out to alert those they’re passing), the PERC report proposed a 6′ two-way paved bikeway with a separate but adjacent 3′ gravel pedestrian trail.

The importance to the community of developing recreation and in particular the Valley Trail was recognized quite early on. For his work as the chair of the ARPC, Trevor Roote was named Citizen of the Year in 1981 and was awarded the Freedom of the Municipality in 1984. Since then, the Valley Trail has continued to expand throughout Whistler and continues to be a popular commuting and recreational route for residents and visitors alike.

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Creating Whistler’s Parks: Emerald Forest, the three-wayCreating Whistler’s Parks: Emerald Forest, the three-way

May 30, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Nancy Wilhelm-Morden made many important decisions for the Whistler community during her time as councillor and mayor. However, the accomplishment she is most proud of from this time is the protection of the Emerald Forest.

Emerald Forest is the 56.3 hectare (139 acre) protected area between Whistler Cay and Alpine. It is a significant habitat corridor for many of Whistler’s furry and feathered friends and is enjoyed by hikers and bikers.

Before 1972 when the BC Highways Department extended Alta Lake Road connecting Rainbow Lodge (now Rainbow Park) to Alpine, there was limited access to the area now known as the Emerald Forest. The extension of Alta Lake Road, along with the construction of the first section of the Valley Trail between Whistler Cay and Alpine, meant that the Emerald Forest Lands became more readily accessible to recreationists.

When mountain biking took off in the 1980s the local trail builders started what are today Whistler’s world-renowned mountain bike trails. Many of the earliest trails were built through the Emerald Forest despite it being privately owned land.

Dan Swanstrom scanning one of his trails in 1994. Dan was responsible for building many of the popular trails through the Emerald Forest. Whistler Question Collection.

The lot had been bought by Decigon Corporation in the late 1970s. As the area became more popular with mountain bikes, ‘no trespassing’ signs started to appear. There were additional challenges as well when a mountain biker broke their back in the early 1990s and brought a lawsuit against the landowners.

Decigon made multiple unsuccessful attempts at getting the land rezoned throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. Then in 1996, the municipality increased the minimum parcel size of land with the Rural Resource 1 Zoning (RR1) from 20 acres to 100 acres. This meant that parcels zoned RR1 could be subdivided into 100 acres at minimum. Trying to maximise their return on investment, Decigon came forward with proposals to develop the land before this change came into effect.

Their preferred plan was for high-density development on a small section of the land. Forty single-family lots with a total of 240 bed units were proposed for 20 acres. Under this plan, the remaining undeveloped land would be protected as parkland, therefore retaining many of the bike trails. This would require rezoning of the land and the municipality was reluctant to approve the proposal because the number of bed units exceeded the development cap.

WORCA president Al Grey appeared in the Whistler Question in 1995, discussing etiquette and maintaining trail quality as more and more riders were getting into mountain biking. Whistler Question Collection.

Decigon’s alternative proposal involved subdividing the entire lot into 20 acre parcels for six single-family homes with 36 bed units. This fit within the RR1 zoning restrictions, however, would be a huge loss of established biking trails. Local community groups Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment (AWARE) and Whistler Off Road Cycling Association (WORCA) were also very active in campaigning for the protection of the forest for the environment and recreation.

Between 1996 and 1999, Decigon, led by the Houghton brothers, was constantly in the media trying to garner support from the Whistler community and council. However, they could not come to an acceptable agreement with the council and Decigon became more and more outraged as the years passed. Most meetings were held in-camera – closed to the public – and rumours were swirling about an impending lawsuit against the municipality.

Then, in August 1999 it was finally announced that a deal had been made for the Emerald Forest lands. Unbeknownst to the community, Intrawest had been brought in as a third party to finally make the deal happen. In the three-way deal, Intrawest purchased the Emerald Forest lands from Decigon for an undisclosed sum. The municipality then paid Intrawest $1 million and gave them approval for an additional 476 bed units so they could develop two further hotels in the Benchlands, in exchange for the Emerald Forest.

There was some disappointment toward this agreement because it meant that Whistler would far exceed the development cap outlined in the Official Community Plan. However, the unique agreement succeeded in ensuring the Emerald Forest was protected in perpetuity.

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Creating Whistler’s Parks: Rainbow Park, appropriate to expropriateCreating Whistler’s Parks: Rainbow Park, appropriate to expropriate

May 23, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

The Whistler Question wrote in 1980, “The Municipality has reviewed the opportunities in the Alta Lake area and without expropriation or purchase of private land property, the recreational opportunity in the Alta Lake area for swimming, especially a beach area for young children, is extremely limited.”

It was clear all along that more public access was required for Alta Lake and the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) had been looking into buying lots on the foreshore of the lake to turn into parks. When Drew Meredith became Mayor in 1986 the council started to think bigger than buying single-family lots, and Rainbow Lodge caught their attention.

Rainbow Lodge, where Rainbow Park is now located, had a long history of tourism. Myrtle and Alex Philip opened the popular vacation destination for summer visitors in 1914. Then in 1948, they sold Rainbow Lodge to the Greenwood family where it continued as a summer resort. In its heyday Rainbow Lodge contained over 40 buildings, including a main lodge, post office, stables and many cabins.

Rainbow Lodge and surrounding facilities, ca 1930. Philip Collection.

Rainbow Lodge was sold to Joan Saxton, a speculator from Vancouver, in 1970. Resort operations ceased in the early 1970s, however, people could still rent rooms and cabins on a more long-term basis. Disaster struck in 1977 when the main lodge burnt down during renovations, and by 1986 many of the remaining buildings had fallen into disrepair.

Whilst Whistler had gone through a period of booming development throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Rainbow Lodge remained rather unchanged. Joan Saxton said during the expropriation in 1986, “Pat Carleton said he wanted to get the town centre going, and then after that it would be my turn. They’ve down zoned me and put me off the sewer system.” In Saxton’s eyes this unfairly reduced the value of the land, and the RMOW and Saxton could not come to an agreement on purchase price.

The RMOW had the land appraised twice, and then went to the Provincial Government where they received permission to expropriate the land for public interest. In 1987, the 43.2 hectare (108 acre) parcel of land on Alta Lake was expropriated for $367,000.

The lakeside cabins at Rainbow Lodge. Philip Collection.

If the owners had been living on the property the expropriation process may have been more difficult, but the Saxtons lived in the city and rented out some of the remaining cabins. Many of these buildings were in rough shape and had to be demolished when the area became a park. Three of the cabins were preserved for historical value, however, and you can still see these in Rainbow Park today.

Three remaining guest cabins at Rainbow Park. Photo courtesy of Jeff Slack.

The park was quickly developed, opening for public use during the summer of 1987. Early improvements to the property included creating a pedestrian crossing over the railway, building up the marshy pathway which was often flooded, and clearing vegetation from the sandy beach. Open wells that had been used for the lodge were filled in, the parking was cleared, and picnic tables added. The beachfront and facilities continued to expand and the park quickly reached the goal of becoming the top beach park in Whistler.

While the council at the time believed the deal was signed and done, the story of Rainbow Park does not end there. In what would become one of the longest lawsuits the RMOW has faced to-date, the Saxton family continued to fight for further compensation. They argued that the land appraisals were not taking into account the size and development potential of the property.

In 2012, the decades-old dispute was finally settled with the judge ordering the RMOW to pay an additional $2.4 million to the Saxton family, valuing the land at $12,000 an acre, comparable to the value of the Nicholas North lands in the early 1990s. With hindsight, the land was revaluated to $1.3 million dollars, and the RMOW was required to pay the difference, plus an additional $1.5 million for unpaid interest.

While Drew Meredith disagreed with judgement, he said Rainbow Park was worth it even at $2.4 million. With the number of people enjoying the sunshine recently, I tend to agree.

Rainbow Park in September 1990. Griffith Collection.
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Creating Whistler’s Parks: Lakeside Park, slowly but surelyCreating Whistler’s Parks: Lakeside Park, slowly but surely

May 16, 2023 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

Following Wayside Park, the second public access point to Alta Lake was at the end of Lakeside Road in Alta Vista, now known as Lakeside Park. Public access to Lakeside Park was first created in 1980, although there were few facilities. When writing about the park in 1980 the Whistler Question specified that, “This area is unknown to many Whistler visitors and residents.”

The relative anonymity of the park went further than the general Whistler population. While Lost Lake Park and Alpha Lake Park featured regularly in the news at the time, there was little information on Lakeside Park. In the one photo of Lakeside Park when it opened, the corresponding article was not even about the park, instead it was about councillor Garry Watson’s proposal to create public access to Alta Lake in the area that is known as Blueberry Park today.

Lakeside Park in 1980. Whistler Question Collection.

In 1982, the Parks and Recreation Commission flagged increasing the size of Lakeside Park through private land acquisition as the highest priority for Whistler. It was at the height of windsurfing when Alta Lake could be seen covered in brightly coloured windsurfers during the summer, and Lakeside was seen as ideal for windsurfer access. Additionally it had road access and parking, and was situated along the main trail corridor.

When the Whistler Rotary Club received its charter in 1976, one of their first projects was to build three floating docks for public use on Alta Lake. One of these floats was brought to Lakeside Park where it allowed visitors to get into the water past the horsetails. Part of the proposal was to further clear the horsetails near the dock, add gravel and sand to improve the beach and put picnic tables and garbage cans in the park. The bathrooms were pump-out septic systems on the shore of the lake and the road was gravel.

The Whistler Question wrote in 1980, “The Municipality has reviewed the opportunities in the Alta Lake area and without expropriation or purchase of private land property, the recreational opportunity in the Alta Lake area for swimming, especially a beach area for young children, is extremely limited.” A benefit of Lakeside was the room for expansion which could be possible through the purchase of private land on either side of the park.

Lakeside Park in 1984. Whistler Question Collection.

However, Whistler became more popular and the land more expensive, and out of reach for municipal coffers. It was very clear that more park space was needed on Alta Lake and in 1984 the idea of a referendum was posed. The proposed referendum would have a long-term policy question on how to reconcile the needs of residents in Alta Vista, with the needs of tourists flocking to the beach.

This was a particularly important question when a rezoning application was submitted to council to change one of the waterfront properties from residential to commercial. Not only would a busy restaurant mean more traffic in the area, it could set a precedent for rezoning approval, increasing the lot value of the area making the plan to buy waterfront land for parks economically unfeasible. Mayor Mark Angus said to the Whistler Question at the time, “How do we ensure that we don’t buy a 60 ft. lot for $600,000? We want the waterfront for the use of the public.” (If only 60 ft. of waterfront was only $600,000 today!)

Go past Lakeside Park on a warm, sunny summers day and you will quickly see it is no longer Whistler’s forgotten park. Bodies are regularly packed into every inch of the grass and docks with people arriving early to claim their space.

The expansions proposed to triple the waterfront area of Lakeside Park were never fully realised. Instead the municipality acquired the land for Rainbow Park on Alta Lake in 1987, and that is a story in itself.

Windsurfing was an incredibly popular pastime on Alta Lake. Benjamin Collection.

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