Brian Lee
It’s three weeks past Labour Day and I’m still sighing with relief from the departed crowds. I know I’ll be whacking my testicles with a pipe wrench in January to distract myself from the monotony of a Pender Harbour winter but, for now, who doesn’t enjoy September’s sudden serenity?
After the U.S. dropped its economic hush on the planet in 2008, things looked bleak for this place. I resolved that if our economy ever bounced back, I wouldn’t be so quick to complain about the pace of development again. And I haven’t — I’m excited about changes that are taking place and welcome the economic optimism. Growth doesn’t come painlessly but I’ve accepted that it’s better than the bleak alternative of closing schools.
Still, if the secret really is out about this place, we need to prepare for those sacrifices and challenges that come with popularity. In July, 66,528 cars travelled from Langdale to Horseshoe Bay. That’s an eight-per-cent increase over July 2016, which was a 4.22-per-cent increase over July 2015.
In August, I travelled to Vancouver on a Wednesday morning and arrived at the terminal over 90 minutes before the sailing. I was nine cars from getting on with a hundred or more behind me. I accept the hazard of overloads on a weekend but I’ve been hitting the same Wednesday in August for 11 years and have seen nothing like it.
The service we rely on to access the rest of the world no longer requires a tweak to the schedule — we clearly need more capacity. Luckily, for the first time since his 2005 election, our MLA, Nicholas Simons, is also a member of the governing party. But even after Mr. Simons fixes the ferries, the growing traffic volume is sure to trigger nostalgia for a time when summer was more ... leisurely.
When you could roll into Dan Bosch park for a picnic and the whole family could find a spot on the beach to lay out towels. Or find a parking spot in Madeira Park.
Or take some time off. Our acute shortage of long-term rental housing has left many businesses short-staffed during the summer. An abundance of employment should be cheered but I couldn’t help but notice that it often showed in the faces of overworked service staff.
Short-term vacation rentals are blamed for the LTR problem but they satisfy a hungry market. Those guests are the reason you saw full cashier lines at the IGA or needed reservations for dinner at LaVerne’s Grill. There are over 250 STRs operating in Pender Harbour and Egmont (story p. 9) but I didn’t talk to one hotelier this summer who wasn’t close to fully booked. That tells me we don’t have enough traditional accommodation to meet demand.
With the reality of PODS, that shortage might inspire a savvy developer to give up on Gibsons and build a George Hotel here.That would have sounded preposterous a few years ago but the pace of change has shifted once again and we must adapt.
We don’t have a choice.
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