Fall 2023 Newsletter

View this email in your browser or unsubscribe from this list EVALUATING THE RESORT MAIN ACCESS ROAD   Our project team has been working on one of the big infrastructure pieces of the project – the highway interchange and main access road up to the main village: The Old Access Dating back to the 1960s, access to the project area has always been from the Cat Lake turn-off and the Brohm Forest Service Road (FSR). Up until now, all versions of the resort have proposed an interchange and access road that more-or-less starts in this area, and roughly follows the Brohm FSR alignment. The Redesign In 2022 we did the first preliminary engineered design of the resort’s highway interchange and access road, and this exercise identified impacts to the Brohm watershed and complex geotechnical issues that gave us more detail on environmental and cost implications. We decided to pivot and evaluate other road alignments that would take pressure off the Brohm River watershed, and we’re happy to report we have a viable alternative!   The New Design In the first half of 2023, we worked with the engineering firm WSP to advance an alternate alignment that would start approximately 8 minutes up the road and will steer clear of the Brohm River completely. Starting just a bit south of the Culliton Creek, our proposed new interchange and access road will move up through some previously logged areas and ultimately join the Swift Creek FSR to get long-term visitors and residents to the main village. We will still include a day skier parking lot and main access gondola to move day-visitors up to the main village. With this change, we are working on updating our Master Plan. Stay tuned for updates but in the meantime, click on the above map to see the old and new road locations. Visitors Enjoying Nature Trails Through the Resort Rendering by Derek Lee of PWL Architects Access to nature and the environment is a priority for our team. Our development parcels are proposed on previously logged areas so that we leave as much of the project area in its natural state as possible. There is tremendous demand for access to nature in the Lower Mainland and the Sea-to-Sky region, especially since the pandemic. The resort is committed to careful and respectful development of trail networks that will be built to environmental and cultural specifications, and maintained professionally to prevent trail erosion and degradation that is common on unsanctioned trail systems. SEPTEMBER 30TH IS THE NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION Each year, September 30 marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.   We encourage everyone to take this day to learn more about reconciliation. Here are a few resources: READ - based on a viral article, 21 Things™ You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph is the essential guide to understanding the legal document and its repercussion on generations of Indigenous Peoples, written by a leading cultural sensitivity trainer WATCH - Little Bird on Crave is a limited series about an Indigenous woman on a journey to find her birth family and uncover the hidden truth of her past, or We Were Children on CBC illustrates the profound impact of the residential school system through the eyes of two children SEE - many buildings across Canada will be illuminated in orange from September 30 at 7pm to sunrise October 1, including federal buildings such as the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill DO - enjoy free admission at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre on Saturday, September 30 with special activities and speakers SUPPORT - Indigenous-led businesses like Sḵwálwen Botanicals which honours Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish) plant knowledge and ancestral traditions, Mr. Bannock led by executive chef Paul Natrall from Squamish Nation, or Talaysay Tours, a Shíshálh (Sechelt) & Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) tour company Copyright © 2023 Aquilini Development, All rights reserved.