Editor,

I am writing in support of a pedestrian-assist between the marina/Wharf Street area and downtown/Cascade. As a design professional, volunteer facilitator for former mayor Paul Samuelson’s Wharf Street Master Plan strategies (12 months with property owners, port and city officials), a volunteer summer shuttle driver and Design Review Board member, I have observed the difficulties that pedestrians (young families, seniors, physically challenged visitors, boaters with supplies, etc.) have experienced and expressed regarding traversing Wharf Street to downtown. The journey needs to be accessible to all, not just the “fit.”

There are two main options: a mechanical assist (vertical or inclined elevator or funicular) and a shuttle vehicle. Both require hardware purchase, operations and maintenance costs and trained drivers on regular schedules (shuttle), and Island Transit is out. Given some view blockage with a vertical elevator/bridge, the funicular offers the best promise for a pedestrian-assist transport. The shuttle van requires purchase or lease, fuel, maintenance, certified/insured drivers, regular schedules and city ownership. Both can be assessed by the city with accurate specifications and cost estimates for informed decisions rather than the emotional and information-lite dialogue that is transpiring. Support and encourage the city’s continued advancement of a pedestrian-assist mechanism based on sound science and accurate costs. The marina was the historic economic engine for Langley and is emerging as a key economic benefit for the future, yet is constrained due to a lack of land area for parking, maneuverability, boat trailers etc., as development activities continue.

Let’s move forward in a reasonable way, with accurate facts and feasibility analysis — forward, not in emotional circles.

RON KASPRISIN

Langley