Whistler Today - July 23, 2014

This weekend 2,800 athletes, 10,000 spectators, and 2,500 volunteers will take part in the Subaru IRONMAN eventon Sunday, July 27, 2014. Last year this event generated $8.6 million for the Whistler and Pemberton area. Residents are encouraged to come out and cheer on the athletes along the route and at the finish line.

Similar to last year, public transit and parking will see significant impacts in Whistler from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and the public can expect delays in vehicle travel. Traffic pattern changes are required to ensure the safety of athletes, volunteers, spectators and travellers.

Transportation Essentials Guide

To help the public travel on event day, the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) has produced the Transportation Essentials guide, which outlines key information such as road closures, transit schedules, parking information and more. Everyone is encouraged to read the guide, plan ahead, leave their cars at home, and bike or walk on the Valley Trail as part of celebrating Subaru IRONMAN Canada.

Volunteers

If you would like to volunteer for the event, sign up online until Friday, July 25 or sign up in person at the volunteer tent at Whistler Olympic Plaza on Saturday, July 26 or Sunday, July 27.

With temperatures hitting 20 to 30˚C this summer, the RMOW would like to remind everyone to enjoy the River of Golden Dreams and Whistler lakes safely. Here are the top 8 ways to safely enjoy Whistler’s rivers and lakes this summer:

1. 1. Use appropriate water equipment. Inflatable boats and other water toys easily deflate and capsize and are not suitable for floating on the River of Golden Dreams.
2. 2. Wear a life-jacket or personal flotation device (PFD). According to federal law, everyone on a boat, inner tube, paddle board, raft or flotation device must have a suitable Canadian approved life-jacket or PFD. The maximum fine for violation is $500. Safety and equipment details are available on Transport Canada’s website.
3. Do not mix water and alcohol. Whistler’s rivers, lakes and beaches are public places, and the consumption of alcohol beverages is prohibited. Alcohol increases the risk of hypothermia, increases fatigue, impairs decision-making and slows reaction time.
4. Obey all rules and posted signs. Whistler’s lakes, beaches and the River of Golden Dreams are not monitored by lifeguards. Be prepared for self-rescue, and never travel alone.
5. Reduce the potential of swimmer’s itch. Wear waterproof sunscreen, avoid areas with lots of weed growth, and towel off vigorously or shower immediately after leaving the water. Learn more about swimmer’s itch and how to avoid it atwhistler.ca/beachwaterquality
6. Do not litter. Please properly dispose of inflatable boats and water toys that have deflated, along with any garbage and recycling such as bottles and cans, in the appropriate bins.
7. Know the signs of drowning. Drowning does not typically involve screaming and waving hands unlike the way it is often portrayed in the movies, and in fact it can often be completely silent. Make sure you know the signs of drowning by reading this article from the Canadian Red Cross.
8. Watch out for boats—especially on Green Lake and Alta Lake. Motor boats may travel fast on areas of Green Lake.

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The RMOW has amended zoning to clear the way for liquor sales at festivals, events and farmers’ markets. The Whistler Conference Centre, Whistler Olympic Plaza and the Upper Village Stroll have been rezoned to allow the sale of packaged liquor when done in conjunction with approved events such as beer festivals, wine festivals and farmers’ markets. The bylaw will also generally allow “outdoor assembly” in Whistler Village and Whistler Creek.

The Province of British Columbia announced a suite of changes to liquor laws in early 2014, with various regulation amendments being rolled out throughout the year. This liquor control regulation change allows the sale of packaged, B.C.-made wine, beer, cider and spirits at outdoor markets and festivals. It accommodates event-related liquor sales in Whistler at places such as the Whistler Farmers Market. The changes don’t include open liquor sales for consumption during an event (other liquor processes are in place to apply for serving liquor during events). To enable the new provincial liquor regulations to be leveraged, the RMOW made the necessary municipal zoning and bylaw changes.

Photo credit: Tourism Whistler / Mike Crane

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The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) has launched theWhistler wayfinding and arrival experience strategy projectwhich will take place over the next five months. The project looks at ways to help visitors navigate the area for their first 48 hours. Whistler partners and stakeholders are involved with the project, and the RMOW will also examine visitor satisfaction ratings in Tourism Whistler’s customer research.

Improving wayfinding and the visitor arrival experience have been identified as important by resort stakeholders in recent years and most recently articulated by the Economic Planning Initiative (EPI) committee. It is one of around 60 action items recommended by the EPI Summary of Key Findings Report. The report was created through a collaboration of the Resort Municipality of Whistler, Tourism Whistler, Whistler Blackcomb, the Whistler Chamber of Commerce, with input from many community organizations.

Visit whistler.ca for more information about the EPI action items, and the July 15 EPI Council Status Update Report.

Construction continues this summer on the Audain Art Museum which is scheduled to be complete in 2015. Once open, the museum will house a permanent collection of British Columbia art from early times to the present day.

Recently , museum creator Michael Audain purchased Emily Carr’s 1928 painting The Crazy Stair at auction for $3,393,000. This painting will be added to the museum’s Emily Carr collection—one of Canada’s strongest. There will also be a collection of nineteenth century Northwest Coast masks, a selection of Vancouver’s photo-based art, and a gallery devoted to West Coast artist Edward J. Hughes. In addition, the museum will house temporary collections from museums around the world in its 56,000-square-foot space.

The Audain Art Museum supports Whistler’s long-term plans for cultural development; it will enhance the tourism experience and build Whistler’s recreation, arts, and cultural offering.

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Whistler’s health, wellness and spirituality festival, Wanderlust, takes place from July 31 to August 4 this summer. The festival brings international yoga teachers, music, speakers, chefs, and other performers to hundreds of yoga enthusiasts.

The RMOW worked with Wanderlust organizers and community partners to bring this international event to Whistler’s beautiful parks and outdoor spaces, including Whistler Olympic Plaza.

Photo credit: Tourism Whistler / Mike Crane

More than 40 volunteers helped remove garbage during Whistler’s second Annual Great Lake Cleanup. The teams included four divers from Whistler Fire Rescue Service as well as ten divers from Vancouver. Local volunteers used snorkels, paddleboards, canoes, motorized barges, and boats to collect the garbage from Lost Lake and Alta Lake.

Garbage collected included parts of an old mill, a car seat, cameras, sunglasses, golf and tennis balls, and large numbers of beer and pop cans. An old rowboat will be removed from Alta Lake later this summer.

The event was organized by Councillor Roger McCarthy and Kimiko Taguchi. Over 40 local businesses donated food, drink, boats, or other supplies to the event.

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Starting this month, the Whistler Public Library will be making improvements to the service area located at the entrance to the library.

The current service area will be reconfigured to allow for better customer service. The space that the front desk is currently occupying will be repurposed to create a warm and welcoming area, which includes comfortable seating, a retail-style display, and small kiosk-style service podiums.

Patrons may experience disruptions to service; however efforts will be made to minimize these. Library visitors should be aware that there will be dust in and around the facility while the renovations are in progress.

Photo credit: L Rathkelly

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To keep Whistler's drinking water standards as high as possible and to prevent backflow contamination, the RMOW is in the process of implementing a Cross Connection Control Program.

Water supply systems are susceptible to contamination if water flows in the reverse direction of piping systems. This is known as backflow and can be prevented with proper cross connection equipment.

The contractor Maintenance Tracking Systems Inc. (MTS) will be contacting industrial, commercial and institutional operators in Whistler from July to October 2014 to conduct assessments on their water system connections. 

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BC Parks recently awarded the permit to build and operate huts in the Spearhead Area of Garibaldi Park to the Spearhead Huts Committee.

“We are pleased to see this project come to fruition as one of the actions identified in our Council Action Plan and the Economic Partnership Initiative. The hut system helps to build Whistler’s outdoor adventure offering for residents and visitors,” said Mayor Nancy Wilhelm-Morden.

The project supports action items made in the Economic Partnership Initiative (EPI) Summary of Key Findings Report to optimize year-round use of local trail assets.

It is expected that the committee responsible for the project will share more news about construction plans soon.

Whistler is hosting the 24th Pacific NorthWest Economic Region summit from July 20 to 24. This annual summit attracts more than 600 business leaders, legislators, and government leaders from across the Pacific NorthWest region. The annual event has the goal of strengthening relationships, finding cross-border solutions to challenges, and promoting regional interests.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) hosted a small reception on the tourism focused day of the conference to bring together key contacts to help build relationships toward regional collaboration.

Conference business that brings inflencial groups to Whistler is an important element of the resort's success. Amongst the many conferences taking place in 2014, Whistler will host the Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) in September.