Is Cowichan slated to be the next Whistler?
A lot of speculation seems to be driving whimsical thoughts on the future of the Cowichan Valley.
A common, but very confusing theme, emerges from council meetings and letters from varied special interest groups around the valley. A small, but active, subset of the community is driving a vision of prosperity via bicycling on the various trials throughout our region.
As noted in a document presented in January 2023, the Cowichan Trail Stewardship Society (CTSS) stated the following:
“Dependency on a single industry is a risk to a community’s vibrancy. Developing another economic driver would reduce this risk, help drive traffic to existing businesses and facilitate the development of new businesses.”
The document goes on further to promote Cumberland as a sample case, citing their growth and development after committing to world-class mountain biking trails.
“Mountain biking has been the key driver for providing the town with an identity that has allowed it to market itself to tourists.”
In the presentation, they refer to mountain biking as a “key driver” for the region, thanking the initiative for giving the town its identity. Could the same be said for the Cowichan Valley?
Feedback from Crofton and the area says no, no it won’t. Most notably, the area doesn’t have any existing businesses which would profit from such an endeavor. At its core, this highlights some of the more fundamental issues we’re facing as we try to pioneer our way through the new age of climate first, everything else second.
For an initiative such as this, the entire driving purpose behind the motion is an attempt to drive tourism dollars into the valley. These tourism dollars come from out of town however, one might question what is the climate impact of this initiative? How many tonnes of carbon will be emitted with increased tourism? Do we have the ability to offset these emissions? Do we have sustainably sourced options for building materials to create the necessary improvements and upgrades?
Interestingly enough, if we take councillor Justice as a test case, none of that matters. When it comes to development opportunities, living 3 kilometers away from a grocery store means you’re going to pollute the area with too much carbon emissions and you shouldn’t live there. However, promoting hundreds of people traveling hundreds of kilometers to ride a bike, 100% supported.
In summary, regardless of whether you believe Cowichan could be a new Whistler, isn’t really relevant. Watching our council stand on the shoulders of fighting climate change while ignoring the obvious pitfalls, is another.
If you agree to this hypocrisy we encourage you to write your local council and see if initiatives like this check all the boxes for the climate emergency. Rest assured your efforts to work and live in the Cowichan Valley all go through the climate lens, even when the council decides where it applies and who it applies to.