Archive for category: BHA in the News

Envisioned as a regional all-season recreation hub, construction of Cone Park in Sioux City, Iowa is well underway and the opening day is tentatively planned for the Christmas break – December 2017.   In 2015, BHA was selected as the recreation and master planning specialist on a multi-disciplinary team charged with putting together this extensive all-season park project.  With opening day only a few weeks away, the lodge, tube park, and snowmaking system are almost ready to go.  The BHA team had the opportunity to work collaboratively with the staff at Sioux City Parks and Recreation to create a plan that offers a diverse and unique recreation opportunity for the many young families of the area.  As the project progresses, we at BHA continue to be amazed and heartened by the growing enthusiasm for this new all-season park, and are eager to see Cone Park open its door to the public.

This great project was a collaboration between BHA and the professionals from SEH, V&K, Torrent Eng. and RRC.

 

For more information

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/cone-park-lodge-ahead-of-schedule-park-could-open-by/article_6ad04d26-fe0a-5fe0-8a6a-4b88dc168ef0.html

and

http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/city-council-establishes-cone-park-fees/article_0c1d899d-6751-5b63-a9e0-47a745fa8d10.html

As part of an ongoing effort, the RMOW is putting together initiatives to answer to the many challenges faced by Whistler as a resort community.  Parallel to that, BHA was engaged by WDC to undertake detailed site analyses and envisioning exercises of the potential lands available for employee housing, institutional and recreation developments.  The plans were presented last night at the well attended RMOW’s Community Forum held at the Whistler Conference Center.  BHA plans highlighted the vision, goals and objectives for potential housing development along with graphics and mapping summary.  Following the work completed by BHA in 2005 for the Olympic Legacy Master Plan, this resident restricted housing planning exercise is now moving toward the 2020 Whistler Vision and the existing community realities.  Last night, RMOW’s Community Forum goals were to present the latest findings and initiatives as well as collecting the community input on transit, housing and the economic development situation.

For more information:

https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/hundreds-turn-out-for-community-forum/Content?oid=5328634

https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/rmow-targets-1000-new-beds-over-five-years/Content?oid=4762186

https://www.whistler.ca/media/news/whistlers-housing-task-force-provides-updates-and-recommendations

Letters to the Editor for the week of September 21st – Whistler Pique Newsmagazine

IN SUPPORT OF CONTROLLING GROWTH

Barrett Fisher’s comments are timely and in fact long overdue (Pique, “Letters to the Editor” Sept.14)

In the 38 years that I have lived in Whistler, I have never encountered such dissatisfaction by locals over the loss of their quality of life. Like Barrett, (the CEO of Tourism Whistler), I have had the great opportunity to travel the world, both as a tourist and a mountain- and ski-resort planner and designer. Like Barrett, I always ask myself, could I live at the place I am visiting? And, like Barrett, I have always found those options had shortcomings and Whistler remained the location of choice.

That is, until recently. Now there are other places that are worthy of consideration.

This is primarily being driven by the fact that the powers that be at Whistler have chosen to ignore the basic and original Whistler mantra that there are limits to growth.  Mountain environments are very definable areas with absolute capacities (skiers on the mountain, cars on the highway, parking in the lots, the number of beds, clean water, sewage, the environment, resident housing, developable area, economics, etc.). To be sustainable, all of these capacities need to be in balance.

Cross the tipping point of these capacities and you begin to wreck the place. With the overcrowding and constant drive for more growth, Whistler has crossed that tipping point; surpassed its comfortable carrying capacity and has seriously begun to lose its shine. It is easy to point fingers at the “growth for growth’s sake” culprits. The challenge now is to figure out how to retreat and establish a balanced, steady state, tourism focused economy.

I commend Barrett and her team at Tourism Whistler for finally verbalizing the need for a new vision for Whistler.

Ever since the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Whistler, we have been largely rudderless.

Let’s hope that we collectively have the strength to make the difficult decisions to create, implement and enforce mechanisms to control growth and recapture some of the magic.

Brent Harley
President, BHA Inc.,

https://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/whistler/letters-to-the-editor-for-the-week-of-september-21st/Content?oid=4537403