To the Editor,
To prosper in this Valley, we need some type of development.
Some people propose that we go back to a time when the community last prospered. To a time when industry ruled the waterfront and the wind and tides carried away our garbage.
I worked on lower Johnston Road in the 1970s and watched tourists pass through as fast as they possibly could. We had become famous for our odor. I wonder if cleaning coal dust off my car will be as annoying as the fly-ash of that bygone era?
Immigration and tourism are better development options to pursue. Money earned elsewhere is spent here. We need to start with what we can do now.
Boomers are retiring. We must do what we can to entice city-folk who would come to our Valley to enjoy their retirement in a more pristine and natural environment. Compared to most island communities, our real estate is a bargain. Could we arrange group tours for prospective settlers?
The best way to attract more tourists is to give them places to go and things to do. Let’s publish a map of south-central Vancouver Island clearly showing Port Alberni as the hub and the logical place to base oneself for adven-turous hiking, cruising, kayaking, cycling and motoring explorations.
It would show that, in addition to the Pacific Rim, our roads and trails connect to Strathcona Park, Ash River lakes, Horne Lake caves, Comox Lake, Carmanah/Walbran Park, Cathedral Grove, Alberni Inlet, Bamfield, Pachena and the West Coast Trail...and all through a magnificent rainforest unique in Canada.
Wesley Brick,
Port Alberni