the Resort Municipality of Whistler  At a Glance

Municipal Boundaries:   
12,630 hectares/31,209 acres

Population:
9,595 permanent residents (2006)
2,266 seasonal residents (est.)
11,522 second-home owners (est.)

28,289 daily population equivalent (est daily total of residents, visitors, employees)

Law Enforcement:
Royal Canadian Mounted Police with 23 officers
Bylaw Services for bylaw enforcement with 17 officers

Government:
One mayor, six councillors, elected term of three years
Next election: November 2008

Olympic Games:
The Resort Municipality of Whistler is proud to be the Host Mountain Resort of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, a member partner, and a venue city, hosting the Nordic, Sliding and Alpine skiing competitions and Paralympic skiing competitions, as well as medal ceremonies for both Games and the Closing Ceremonies for the Vancovuer 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

Whistler Fire Rescue Service:      
One fire chief, four assistant chiefs, 17 fulltime firefighters/inspectors
60 paid-on call (volunteer) firefighters

Real Estate:
In 2006, there were 14,296 assessed properties in Whistler, an increase of 1% over 2005. Total assessed value of properties is $9.5 billion, of which $7.8 billion is residential.

Average purchase price of condominium in 2006: $608,620 (CDN),  a decrease of 6% over 2005
Average purchase price of single family residence in 2006: $1.82 m (CDN), increase of 5% over 2005
Average purchase price of single family lot in 2006: $1.33 m (CDN), decrease of 21% over 2005
Total value of real estate transactions in 2006: $477 m, increase of 5% over 2005
Number of real estate transactions in 2006: 627, increase of 19% over 2005

Transportation:
Scheduled bus service runs from Vancouver and Vancouver Airport to Whistler approximately seven times daily. Whistler is also served by regular air (helicopter/float plane) service and has a heliport.

Travel Time:
Whistler to Vancouver  120 km/75 mi (2 hrs)
Whistler to Seattle  354 km/218 mi (5 hrs)

Commercial Development:
The total amount of developed commercial space in Whistler is 206,569 square metres. About 27% of the total commercial and industrial space is retail; restaurant and bar is 25%, office is 8.7%, public/institutional is 18%. The total value of construction in 2006 was $41.4 million. 

Tourist Accommodation:
As of December 31, 2005, the total number of self-contained (dwelling) units zoned for tourist accommodation use was 5,967:
2,151 tourist accommodation (e.g., condo hotel units, chalets, villas)
128 pension/B&B rooms
2,375 hotel rooms
231 hostel beds
172 campsites

Development Cap:
The development cap is set at 62,150 bed units, including resident restricted housing at the athlete village site. A bed unit is a measuring tool that reflects the servicing and facility requirements for one person. A single-family home is allocated six bed units while multi-family homes are allocated two to four bed units based on their size.

As of December 31, 2005, the number of developed units reached 46,387, or 84 percent of the total committed. Single family residences represent 30 percent of developed units. Accommodation units (tourist accommodation, hotel, pension, hostel, campsite) represent 28 percent of developed units, multi-family homes, including units rented for tourist accommodation represents 29 percent of developed units. The remainder is resident restricted housing.  

Visitation:
2.14 million (approx) annual visitation

Environment/Climate:
Average snowfall in the valley is 430.5 cm.
Average snowfall in the alpine is 914 cm (30 ft).
Average winter temperatures range from –8º to 3º C (18º to 37º F).
Average summer temperature range from 9º to 27º C, (48º to 80º F).

Elevation of Whistler Village is 668 m (2,190 ft),
Blackcomb Mountain peak is 2,284 m (7,494 ft)
Whistler Mountain peak is 2,182 m (7,160 ft).

Mountain range is the Pacific Range of the Coast Mountains.

Transit:
Whistler’s public transit system, WaVE, carried more than 2.8 million passengers. The Whistler fleet of 24 buses is uniquely painted with an alpenglow scene and is equipped with ski racks and bike racks. They run from 5:30 a.m. to 3 a.m. daily.  A free shuttle services the Village-VillageNorth-Upper Village area and Lost Lake Park in the summer.

Roads:
128 kms of municipal roadway

Parks & Trails:
Total parkland is 551.3 hectares (1,362.3 acres).
Lost Lake Park is the largest park in Whistler at 216.7 hectares (535.5 acres)

Whistler has 9 major parks: Lost Lake, Rainbow, Lakeside and Wayside parks on Alta Lake, Alpha Lake Park, Meadow Park, Spruce Grove Park, Rebagliati (Fitzsimmons Park) and Whistler Village Park; and numerous neighborhood parks.

There are 10 neighborhood parks, the Emerald Forest conservation area and Rainbow Wetlands Reserve.

Whistler Interpretive Forest in Function Junction is approx 3,000 hectares (7,413 acres) with 16 km (10 mi) of mountain biking or walking trails

The multi-use, paved Valley Trail is 31.5 km (19.6 mi) from Spring Creek to Emerald Estates;

The multi-use, subalpine Flank Trail is 43 km (28.6 mi) and climbs up to 1,200 metres along the west side of the valley from Alexander Falls in the Callaghan Valley to 16-Mile Creek;

Lost Lake Cross Country Ski trails is 32 km (19.8 mi) track set and groomed

15 public tennis courts

Mountain Bike Trails:
35 km of Valley Trail
160 km of singletrack trails
120 km of doubletrack trails

For more information about Whistler's biking scene, click here.

Health Services:
Whistler Health Care Centre includes treatment facilities with ambulance and helicopter, x-ray, laboratory, and emergency care. Ambulance and doctors are on call 24-hours every day. Full-time general practitioners and part-time specialists operate from the second floor. The Vancouver Coast Health Unit provides a range of community services including Environmental Health, Public Health, Nursing, Speech Therapy, Alcohol and Drug Counselling, Mental Health, Baby Clinics and Home Care.

Private dental, physiotherapy, massage, chiropractic and acupuncture therapy services are offered throughout Whistler.

For more Whistler demographics, visit the Whistler2020 website, under Measuring Progress. Go there now.