LETTER TO THE EDITOR | Resist a ruinously pricey albatross

Published 4:11 pm Friday, February 27, 2015

Editor,

Langley Mayor Fred McCarthy says the Langley-to-marina transportation method is required to be “the best possible solution for moving … boaters with their gear in sufficient numbers to be both a safe and efficient form of transportation.”

The mayor claims to have backed away from a funicular/elevator solution, but by framing the issue this way he is making a blatant attempt to guarantee that either the funicular or elevator is chosen.

I know I’m repeating myself, but it’s important. There is absolutely no evidence that there are enough local boaters mooring at the marina to matter or that local boaters would do anything other than use their cars to move their stuff.

Which do you think boaters would do: Drive their cars to the marina, dump supplies, park their car and walk back to the docks or use a funicular/elevator? To do the latter, one would need to:

• Park in downtown Langley, presumably at the church

• Find a cart (presumably at the church)

• Load up their supplies

• Lug the cart to the funicular access point 400 feet away

• Wait for the funicular/elevator

• Ride the funicular down

• Unload their cart and wheel it to the marina

• Load their supplies onto their boat

•Take cart back to the access point

•Take the cart back to the parking lot

•Repeat for further loads

•At the end, take funicular back to marina and go boating

•Reverse the process when getting back to the marina.

It’s ridiculous to imagine anyone would do this. By making it a requirement, the mayor shows that he remains determined to saddle the city with a ruinously expensive albatross.

SHARON EMERSON

Langley