Nov. 19 - Whistler Evolves

I won’t be adding new content to this tumblr blog anymore.  All new stuff will be at the link above.

When you feel some tension and want to feel happy, play this album.  

The following was taken from the 1976  Official Community Plan.  My responses are the starred points on how I would respond to each objective with both ideas and action points.

Community Development Objectives

To protect and enhance the natural environment of the resort municipality of Whistler

*Work on sustainability from a values perspective, not simply for marketing.  It it pretty obvious that what we say and what we do is not the same thing.  Here are a few solutions:

* Garbage - There should be waste transfer stations in every neighbourhood.  Nobody should have to take a bus to throw out their garbage.   Easier access to garbage disposal would mean better waste management, with a direct result being fewer bears executed.

* Transportation - The fuel cell system is a complete joke and an example of something that looks good on the surface but is a complete farce in the sustainability game.  Anyone who really understands true cost economics  will tell you that the hydrogen fuel cell model is unsustainable.  A biodiesel bus fleet would be better on the environment.  Another link explaining true cost economics.

* Stop giving tourists their comforts if it is not in line with 2020.  Case in point:  plastic water bottles in hotels.  We have some of the best water in the world.  Why are we using fossil-fuel transportation to ship water here, and encouraging fossil-fuel based packaging?  Hotels should not just blindly hand out water bottles to tourists but rather encourage they try our public water.  even offer up some reusable containers to help facilitate the change and give the tourists a souvenir they can be proud of.

To provide for the year - round recreational needs of residents and visitors.  

*We are doing a great job of this already, but I'd like to see the valley open up more and less reliance on Whistler/Blackcomb as the recreational answer.  We should open up backcountry access like they did in Smithers.  Also putting more time into expanding and maintaining the bike trail network by working hand in hand with WORCA and other groups making sure their needs are met.

To provide a stable year round economy for the valley

*This is tricky, but going forward we need to diversify.  There should be someone who's job it is to always have something going on, whether it be a festival, concert, symposium, etc on public resources.  Also to make it easier for private promoters to put events on.  A university would go a long way into increasing the year round viability of the resort.  

* We have a huge base of artists and athletes.  I would love to see channels to distribute our huge human resource pool on a larger scale, which can be done relatively easily through the internet.  It's not muni's job to be the salesman, but it is the job to be the facilitator for information exchange.   Even working to develop a community site where we can use our strength in numbers and the Whistler "brand" (cloudy as it may currently be) to sell ourselves to the world.   

*I'd like to see more diversified recreational options than just the mountain in the winter.  This could mean turning lots 1 and 2 into an indoor recreation fun centre.  Artificial surf wave, swimming pool, skate park, etc. 

To encourage commercial and residential facilities ancillary to recreational activity up to but not exceeding a level suitable to serve the recreational resource.  

*I think Whistler services the need as a whole, but that is with 50% occupancy.  We need more options when the village is packed.  Which, hopefully soon, will be all the time.  In this case I see the value in having vendors for high traffic times.  To the business community that may be resistant, I am not excluding you; you would also be entitled to participate as a vendor in this program, adding an additional revenue stream.  Not to mention you would have several competitive advantages.

To ensure that development in the municipality preserves the view and is in keeping with the natural landscape.  

*This is not currently adhered to.  The flower/grass motif in the village is not in touch with the natural landscape.  I'd be all for redesigning the village landscape motif to be more in tune with local flora.  This would be a phased process, as digging up everything would be costly and pointless.  But a landscaping plan based on Whistler's natural biodiversity would be less of a maintenance expense and give us something unique to offer the tourist market. 

To limit the development of the recreation resource and the provision of ancillary services to a level which will not overload the access highway and rail link.  

*too late for this.  Anyone who's tried to drive south on a Sunday afternoon knows that we are way outside our means.  But I am absolutely behind figuring out a solution to reinstate a rail system between North Van and Pemberton.  Not only would locals use it but tourists could as well, with a great alternative to skylinx by taking the skytrain,seabus, and sea to sky train.  It could be a huge competitive advantage as that stretch of land is one of the most beautiful on the planet.

To provide a transportation system for the efficient movement of people and goods within the municipality and other parts of the province.  

*Let's face it, Whistler Transit is very inefficient.  I wrote a post on one way to make it better using current technology.  As for other parts of the province, let's get a sea to sky commuter service back.  like in my previous point, I believe a rail system is viable.  It would probably have to be subsidized at first until the momentum changed and the market saw it as a good idea, but that is something worth subsidizing for a year or two.  

To provide for the health and safety of residents and visitors.  

*Whistler Community Services Society does a great job of offering what the Medical Centre cannot do.  I'd be all for improving their communication budget to help them engage more with the community.  Make WCSS a part of the open-source information exchange when I mentioned my ideas on wiki-government. 

*All in all we do a good job health-wise.  Safety wise my biggest concern is not the criminals, but police.  We do not need the RCMP and their macho attitude.  A community-based police force would mean more accountability and personal investment in the community.  Less excessive force.  Less petty requirements.

To encourage private investment in the development of recreational and ancillary facilities.

* Beric Pocklington is currently in talks with the folks at Flowrider/Waveloch.  He wants it to come to Whistler.  I think this is a great idea and should be promoted heavily by local government to make it as easy as possible for private investors to bring this to town.  

* Skateparks have numerous economic and social benefits to the community.  I would push for development of more skateparks.  One at Creekside and one at meadow park, as well as an indoor one in the village to coincide with the flowrider and whatever else we want to put there.

To minimize the dollar cost of community services.

This time 2 years ago I was at Mobilize, a conference in San Francisco hosted by the tech blog GigaOm Mobile.  The conference brought together software developers, mobile enterprise professionals, and tech media to discuss the future of mobile apps.  The reality is that everything is shifting to mobile, and those not working with that shift are being left in the dust.  The best part of the event (as is with most of these conferences) was the networking.  I met some great people who are among the best in their industry for innovation and expertise.  

If you like stats, you'll love this infographic that shows the surge in mobile usage in just a few years. 

Why isn't local government jumping on the bandwagon?

The reality is that innovation is not a strong point of a Beaurocracy.  The more people that have to approve a decision, the more the spark gets stifled.  I've seen it not only in government, but in Universities.  The speed at which our world and technology is changing happens much faster than any old-style organization can keep up with.

So RMOW/Whistler Transit staff, I do not blame thee. The RMOW in its current iteration is byproduct of the much bigger problem: of a system that cannot keep up to the pace with private sector innovation. 

The BART train system in San Francisco has developed a fantastically useful iphone app:

Things like this are ways to tangibly make Whistler Transit run better.

Imagine being able to be alerted when a your bus is 2 stops away.

Or if it's 10 minutes behind schedule.

Or if it's full.

Or any of the other reasons that us riders groan and gripe about when it comes to Whistler Transit's inefficiencies.  

The technology is there, and I have the connections to make it a plausible reality. 

Not only that, but we could use the network for a check in-style system to see where others are, real-time ride sharing... plenty of ideas to stay rolling for a while as you can see.

Bureaucracy does NOT need to be status quo.  Technology allows us to be efficient.  We can make things happen without it taking time and money to make a decision.

Government should function the way the web does.  Collaborative, open-source, and efficiently organized.  Doing this allows for greater democracy and a smoother spread of ideas.

I do not want to run because I want to make rules.  I am running because I want to make government a venue for all to place input on their decisions, and for me to be a representative of the community to implement those decisions.  That is not to say that I will not have principles; it is merely saying that I want to listen to ALL opinions and suggestions, not just the loudest.

There is a great book out called Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything.  In the book it shows how the new type of information exchange is exponentially smoother, more productive, and faster.  If it works for companies, why not local government?  

Vancouver is actually leading the change, and Councillor Andrea Reimer is at the forefront of the implementation.  Being so close to a great role model should be leveraged more in our own community.

REAL WORLD EXAMPLE FOR WHISTLER:

Let's make environmental information that is collected freely available to the public.  Open-source software has great implications when you translate it to data interpolation, for example real time analysis of air quality, water quality, etc.  The muni collects this data, but what do they do about it?  How about we create graphical representations of the data in a digestable format, such as a 3D real-time graph, or even sound waves?  It's possible and is done in science already.  If we use open-source software we (not just muni hall but anyone) can begin to create Whistler-specific analysis. If we care about showing the world how sustainable we are, here is a great way to meet one of those goals.

Out of town?  Not able to make it? 

Asphalt time lapse (by ReesyDuck)

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Albert Einstein, (attributed) US (German-born) physicist (1879 - 1955)

Allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Steve.  

I live in Whistler.

I love Whistler.

I want to help make it the best it can be.

I think there is a lot that we can improve on.

I have some ideas to make it work smoothly.

I am intelligent,

I am honest,

I shred.

I hope you like the content on this page.

aloha!