The RMOW has announced new "upgrades" to Rainbow Park, and while we welcome those that will improve amenities and access, others will unfortunately pave sections of the grassy waterfront, all the while closing the park for an entire Spring, Summer, and Fall. In particular, the "upgrades" include relocating and widening the Valley Trail so that it obstructs the lake itself:

"The path will move east around the volleyball courts and extend alongside the beach, functioning as a waterfront promenade, connecting in a loop to the new food truck plaza near the park’s main entrance."

More info: https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/local-news/whistlers-rainbow-park-to-close-for-construction-later-this-year-6435943

This Petititon is specifically against moving the Valley Trail so that it becomes a "promenade" and obstructs the lake. It is against the implementation of a "paved loop" through the middle of the Park's greenspace and waterfront. It is also against the idea of a paved "food truck plaza" in the Park's greenspace.

While we understand the need to improve access to the lake (and new pier), we believe this can be done with a horseshoe design that would address access issues without turning this peaceful Alta Lake park into a "promenade" for human traffic.

We oppose this development because creating a paved loop through the Park with the Valley Trail fundamentally alters the nature of the park, turning the peaceful waterfront into a paved transportation corridor.

Photo: Waterfront location of proposed 3 metre wide Valley Trail, aka the "Paved Park Oval" that will obstruct the Park's legendary views of Whistler Blackcomb and hinder access to/from Alta Lake itself. The paved road for e-bikes, cyclists, joggers and human traffic will cut directly through the trees where Park visitors lay blankets to go swimming and seek shade.

There are several very good reasons not to pave the Park. Moving the Valley Trail in front of the lake: (a) obstructs the view of the lake and the majestic view of the mountains, which will now be blocked by a stream of human traffic; (b) paves over the quiet grassy and treed area where everyone puts towels down to go swimming; (c) makes it more difficult to mind children in the water; (d) makes it more challenging to get in/out of the water; and (e) destroys the natural, beautiful ambience of the Park, ripping up and paving over the waterfront grass and trees with a 3-metre wide strip of tarmac where cyclists, joggers, e-bikers and selfie-takers will all compete for attention.

Photo: Artist rendering from RMOW of proposed "upgrades," with paved Valley Trail cutting directly through Alta Lake's waterfront. The BBQ area on the north end (right side) will become pavement, while the grassy and treed area used by families and swimmers to lay towels and seek shade will be intersected and blocked by a paved transportation corridor.

If this development goes through, it will hem in park goers, who will now be surrounded on all sides by a paved oval of Valley Trail. This plan turns the Rainbow Park waterfront into a paved roadway for bikes, electric vehicles, and everyone else getting from A to B. The world-famous views the Park was known for from the grass will be gone.

Just imagine RMOW's new park: have fun dancing across the hot tarmac of the busy Valley Trail, dripping wet in your bathing suit after a dip in Alta Lake, dodging the e-bikes, tourists, and skateboarders!

Just imagine the new view from down on your sunbathing towel on the grass: it's all rear ends and torsos now instead of the panoramic view of the mountains!

This redesign makes all the same mistakes Vancouver was about to make in the 1960s, when it considered putting an elevated highway and interchange through the downtown waterfront. This sparked massive public protest, drawing from the inspiration of Jane Jacobs' opposition to the Spadina Expressway in Toronto, that thankfully saved the city from being turned into the kind of concrete jungle that LA and Seattle became. Yet this is precisely what RMOW is about to do to Rainbow Park: put a paved road right through the waterfront.

In short, paving the Park is a bad planning style that ought to be challenged, just as it has been elsewhere:

1/ We should be prioritizing greenspace at the beach front, not pavement.

2/ We should be prioritizing a children's playground over a new parking lot for commercial operators with food trucks, aka the "food truck plaza."

This petition also serves a reminder to the RMOW that it needs to think more carefully but also critically about undertaking "upgrades". This isn't an "upgrade," it's a proposed fundamental change to the nature of the Park, permanently altering the waterfront to a transportation corridor. Because of these fundamental changes, the design needs to be properly vetted by the community. The consultation for this project, while it began in 2018, was primarily surveyed during the pandemic summer of 2021. It also did not specifically address Valley Trail location (at least not in the feedback I saw years ago).

So while we thank RMOW for upgrading the actual facilities, including improving the dog park fencing, Park access and parking (the new pier and parking are great!), as well as improving the volleyball courts, please do not ruin the *beautiful waterfront* of Rainbow Park by putting a paved road, aka the Valley Trail, right through it. Please do not pave the Park.

Instead, we kindly ask that the RMOW look into alternative designs, such as a "horseshoe" design that preserves the Rainbow Park waterfront as a green space for sunbathers, families, swimmers, paddleboarders, and other Park goers.

Thank you RMOW. We feel that together we can ensure Rainbow Park serves the Whistler Community for years to come.

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Read the Letter to the Editor here: https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/opinion/letter-whistler-dont-pave-over-rainbow-park-legendary-vibe-6498192

Read the PiQUE story here: https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/local-news/petition-launched-against-planned-rainbow-park-upgrades-6511961

PiQUE poll here, with over 50% majority rejecting the proposed changes or calling for none to be made at all:
https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/local-news/poll-rmow-plans-whistler-rainbow-park-6570726

PiQUE op-ed from Max, pointing out that many Commentators here question the logic of redeveloping our Parks at all, for the sole purpose of overrunning them with tourists:

https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/maxed-out/maxed-out-dissecting-whistler-new-rainbow-park-connections-6565953