Whistler Bylaw Case
Mrs. Nancy Willhelm-Morden
4325 BLACKCOMB WAY
WHISTLER, BRITISH COLUMBIA
CANADA
VON 1B4 WHISTLER
Dear Mrs. Willhelm-Morden my name is Jonathan Hutchison and I have lived in Whistler for 16 years now. As most Whistlerites I enjoy being outdoors and taking advantage of what beautiful British Columbia has to offer. This includes skiing, running, swimming, and biking.
This letter is about CONSOLDATED BYLAW NO. 933,1992. Concerning biking and skateboarding in the village. As you know this bylaw restricts everyone from riding their bikes or skateboards through the village. Biking is one of my favorite ways to enjoy all Whistler has to offer. Also because Whistler is a relatively small town biking is a great way to travel from place to place. This bylaw can be a real inconvenience when traveling through the village. Having to walk your bike or carry your skateboard or go far out of the way to travel from shop to shop or from one end of the village to another. The village should be a place where people walking and people biking can coexist.
The total visitor spending in Whistler attributed to biking is $3.8 million over the period of June 4th to September 26th. The busiest time of the year is in August where about 20,000 visitors per day most of which are in whistler for the bike park. Leaving thousands of people, the majority, walking around with bikes by their side.
Which can lead to collisions and increase the number of stolen bikes.
My first thought was to repeal the bylaw completely but I did more research on why the bylaw was put in place originally. Collisions between bikers and pedestrians are what caused this bylaw to be put in effect. My suggestion is to put a bike lane through the village