In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer). Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1984. Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.
Some context for this week’s question: On Monday, May 7, about 50 people attended a meeting at Myrtle Philip School to discuss Whistler’s parks and recreation facilities. The meeting reviewed the work done so far and included a “before and after” slide show of completed and under construction parks projects. Lost Lake Park had been officially opened in September 1982, sections of the Valley Trail had been paved and more were underway, and more parks were planned.
Question: What do you think of Whistler’s parks and trail systems?
Peter Xhignesse – Ski Patroller – Tapley’s Farm
I use it. I think it’s nice to have an area off the highway for bikes to go through. They’ve done a fabulous job with Lost Lake Park, it’s a big facelift. I am a little disappointed at the lack of recreational things like baseball backstops.
Charlie Doyle – Commercial Artist – Alta Vista
It’s okay. It’s fun. I live in Alta Vista, so the bike trail’s right out my front door, so it’s a good way to avoid using the car. The parks I find I don’t use. I used Lost Lake prior to it being a park, although I recognize the improvements. Obviously they need more lakefront.
Joan Richoz – Homemaker – Alpine Meadows
I use the bike trails. They need to be a little wider or have a white line down the middle for safety. I use Lost Lake in the summer for swimming and in the winter for cross-country skiing. More beaches are needed – we don’t have waterfront property. I prefer Lost Lake Park, but you can’t get there in five minutes, as the neighbourhood parks are necessary.
When the first Outdoor Recreation Plan was completed in 1980, development of a park on Alpha Lake was not identified as a high priority. Lost Lake and Alta Lake are warmer and more desirable for swimming so facilities for those lakes were top of the list. However, when the opportunity arose in 1982 to purchase land on Alpha Lake from John Taylor, the Municipality jumped at the chance to increase lakeside recreation.
John Taylor owned over 160 acres (65 hectares) in the Creekside area around Nita Lake and Alpha Lake. He built the first tennis courts in the Valley at Jordan’s Lodge where the Whistler Tennis Club was formed in 1978. Passionate about tennis, John agreed to sell the land to the municipality for $93,000 on the understanding that tennis courts would be built as part of the park development.
The undeveloped land where Alpha Lake Park was built was a large swamp and extensive work was required to prepare the area. Fill was brought in for the grassed area and sand for the beach. The tennis courts alone required 3 feet of basalt bedding for stability. Picnic tables and a wharf were also constructed and the park was connected to the early Valley Trail network.
Employees moving fill to create the beach at Alpha Lake Park. Whistler Question Collection.
When the park opened in 1983 the Whistler Question wrote, “A visit to Alpha Lake Park is a step into a delightful other world.” At the time it opened there were few facilities found at the other parks, and Alpha Lake Park had volleyball courts, tennis courts, a beach and trails.
Municipal Parks Planner, Tom Barratt, was particularly fond of Alpha Lake Park due to the number and size of Kokanee Trout found in the nearby streams. Cedars were planted along the stream banks to offer shade and further improve the conditions for spawning trout.
Parks Planner, Tom Barratt (right) and team member Suzanne McLean put the final touches on Alpha Lake Park in July 1983. Whistler Question Collection.
One of the most notable parts of Alpha Lake Park, the children’s treehouse did not come along until later. It was built in 1989 by Eric Scragg from funds raised through the community fundraiser, Whistler Night. Whistler Night was a fun ‘night out’ event that raised money for projects that benefit the community.
Money raised from the night out in 1987 was originally slated to go toward a children’s park at the base of Whistler Mountain; however, Whistler Mountain revised their plans and built Whistler Express Gondola in the area instead. The funds sat in the Whistler Nights’ account for two years as they searched for an appropriate project to put the money toward. More facilities for children were desperately needed in the community and Alpha Lake Park was eventually chosen because it was felt to be ‘underutilised’.
Bill Barratt, who went on to become Chief Administration Officer (CAO) for the RMOW, also worked in Parks at the time. He said while visitors and residents to Whistler wanted generally the same things from a park, it was still a balancing act. He used the play equipment at Alpha Lake Park as an example of a draw card for out-of-town visitors. Unique facilities meant visitors would go on to tell their friends about the park, and drive continued summer visitation.
The official opening of Alpha Lake Park. From left to right, Trevor Roote, Bill Barratt, Karen Barratt, and Tom Barratt. Whistler Question Collection.
Despite not being the number one priority in the Outdoor Recreation Plan, Alpha Lake Park was important as it connected the network of trails and parks from Meadow Park in the north, through Lost Lake and Alta Lake, to Alpha Lake in the south. The initial five-year plan to complete these parks and a connecting trail network was instead completed in three years, greatly increasing access to lakes and recreation throughout the Valley.
Today the playground, volleyball courts and tennis courts continue to be enjoyed by the community and visitors alike.
In the 1980s the Whistler Question began posing a question to three to six people and publishing their responses under “Whistler’s Answers” (not to be confused with the Whistler Answer). Each week, we’ll be sharing one question and the answers given back in 1984. Please note, all names/answers/occupations/neighbourhoods represent information given to the Question at the time of publishing and do not necessarily reflect the person today.
Some context for this week’s question: In late March, 1984, 400 production workers at Pacific Press Ltd., which published both The Province and the Vancouver Sun, went on strike, both over wage increases and in response to larger struggles between unions and the provincial government. While this strike meant that Vancouver’s large papers were not available, the Globe and Mail out of Toronto expanded their BC coverage and rapidly increased their circulation in the province.
Question: Have you been affected by the loss of the Vancouver dailies because of the Pacific Press strike?
Sue Clark – Unemployed – Whistler Cay
No. I normally pick up the Sun but now that it’s not going any more I find the Globe and Mail’s B.C. section keeps me informed on what’s going on in B.C. and the country. And there’s always the six o’clock news.
Paul Martin – Hotel Employee – Whistler
No. I’m from Toronto, so I seem to pick up the Globe and Mail more often. The only thing is when you’re going into Vancouver to catch a flick you don’t know what’s going on – probably the biggest loss is the movie listings.
Clayton Ross – Unemployed Waiter – Whistler
Not at all. I’m a Canadian before I’m a B.C. person, so the news isn’t important. I see a lot of people here reading the Globe and Mail, but I think a lot of others would rather see the Vancouver papers. The strike could give the two papers better direction when it’s over.
Much of Whistler’s magic comes from the swathe of recreational green space that we enjoy within the municipal boundaries. For this we can thank the visionary thinking that started a Recreation Plan for Whistler, before Whistler Village even existed.
The value of recreational green space was not underestimated in Whistler even before the municipality was created. A community study by W.J. Blakely in 1973 stated, “The acquisition, either through direct purchase or as a condition of approval of development, of public open space and lake front land for community recreation should be undertaken as soon as possible on behalf of any new municipality incorporated.”
The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) was incorporated in September 1975, and despite the many tasks facing them, a provisional Recreation Plan was written by 1976. ‘Recreation and Open Space Considerations for Community Planning’ was prepared for the RMOW by Norm Paterson representing the Whistler Developers Association, Paul Burrows representing Alta Lake Rate Payers Association, Paul Mathews from the Advisory Planning Commission and councillor Al Raine.
This report recognised that, “Recreation is the primary resource of the Whistler Community and this important asset must be protected and optimized for the benefit of the Whistler Community.” The report recognised that while the ski season was the prime driver of the economy in Whistler, the summer economy should not be overlooked.
Analysing recreational potential in Whistler, the report recommended investment into most recreational opportunities except for hunting, target shooting and ski jumping. Hunting and target shooting were recognised as too noisy and in conflict with Whistler’s other recreational opportunities, while ski jumping was not an economically viable investment for the RMOW, although private investment would be supported.
In the 1970s, Wayside Park on Alta Lake was one of the few designated parks in Whistler as it had previously been a provincial park. Apart from this, public access to Whistler’s lakes was limited. The report noted as priority, “The areas of active water related recreation should be developed as quickly as possible. The present priority would appear to be public beach access to Alta Lake and boat launching areas. The development of Lost Lake is also important.” In his copy of the planning document, Trevor Roote, who became the chair of the Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission (APRC), circled this paragraph and wrote ‘agreed’.
Wayside Park in July 1979. The park was the only public access to Alta Lake at this time. Whistler Question Collection.
Trev Roote, and the Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission (APRC) expanded on this preliminary planning document to create the original Recreation Master Plan. The plan was constructed largely by volunteers before there was a parks or recreation department in the municipality. It proposed locations for parks with a linear spine of trails to connect them. Doug Wiley, municipal engineer in the days when the parks person came under engineering, remembered volunteer Trev Roote standing by his desk for hours going over their proposal.
The plan was detailed and thorough. It is quite incredible comparing the highlighted and hand-drawn maps from over 40 years ago to the system of parks and trails we enjoy today. There are a few linkages still to be connected in valley trail system, notably between Alpha Lake Park and Function Junction, and from Mons to Whistler Cay. Other proposals that were not realised include the trail following the railway tracks on the west side of Alta Lake, south of Rainbow Park. On this section today pedestrians and cyclists are required to ride with vehicles often flying along Alta Lake Road. Apart from that, development has gone surprisingly close to plan.
Following the creation of the Master Plan, the land still needed to be acquired and the parks and trails developed. Whistler saw a period of rapid recreational development in the early 1980s. Lost Lake came first, followed by Meadow Park, Lakeside and Alpha Lake. This is not to mention many smaller local parks and facilities.
To turn the recreation plan into reality there are many interesting stories that the Whistler Museum will be exploring throughout spring, in the series Creating Whistler’s Parks. Keep an eye out for these to hear about the municipality’s longest lawsuit, and how the Emerald Forest is related to hotels in the Blackcomb Benchlands.
In 1984, Trev Roote, chairman of the Advisory Parks and Recreation Commission, became Whistler’s fifth Freeman in recognition of his five years as a volunteerat the helm of municipal parks development. Trev was a West Vancouver businessman, but spent considerable time in Whistler identifying recreational needs and gaining referendum approval of $2 million parks spending. Whistler Question Collection.
The Whistler Museum operates within the shared unceded territory of the Líl̓wat Nation and the Sk̲wx̲wú7mesh Nation. We respectfully honour their cultural practices and traditions.
WHISTORICAL 