Dear editor,
I very much liked the letter about the railway not being viable. Excellent idea about the bike trail.
There is no point to hanging onto the past, when it is only costing money and sooner or later we will be getting rid of it anyway( tracks across Fifth street, how long were they there for nothing?)
We had a visitor from Europe and recommended the trip to Victoria on the train. She came back furious.
"You spend hours and hours looking out at trees four feet away from the window, listen to endless honking, as the train crosses all the country roads, why did you do this to me? I could have a much nicer trip on the bus."
The bike trail. Yes, but I would go even further, than Marie Gaudreau. Rip up the tracks, sell the steel and use the money to pave it.
There would be an opportunity for recreational biking, rollerblading, etc. The bed is almost level, no extreme ups and downs, perfect feature to offer to visitors.
The construction costs would be minimal, and considering the budget now, the yearly maintenance (monitoring, garbage pickup, etc.) just couldn't be as high as running the once-a-day choo choo.
Vladimir Suna,
Courtenay