Our Lasting Legacies

So much planning, energy, commitment and investment is going into making the 27 days of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games successful. Throughout the time leading up to 2010, the municipality will continue to forge alliances and develop programs and events to best leverage the tremendous power and resources associated with the Games. The goal – to partner in producing extraordinary Games, while working to achieve our long-term community vision.

In planning for the Games, the municipality has identified more than 25 legacies for the benefit of the community. Some will provide direct benefits; others will be indirect. Some are yet to be realized, while others are already providing tangible benefits. All provide lasting legacies of value for Whistler residents, businesses and our entire resort community.

• Community Land Bank provides 300 acres of gifted Crown land for the legacy resident neighbourhood, Cheakamus Crossing, and for further development of resident housing if required by the community in the future.
• The Whistler Olympic & Paralympic Athletes Village will be transformed post Games into a legacy resident neighbourhood, Cheakamus Crossing, and be a model for sustainable living. It will provide a mixture of housing types to meet the accommodation needs for Whistler residents, and include a trail system, indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, the Athletes Centre and Lodge, and convenience retail and other services.
• The Whistler Athletes Centre will provide a training and accommodation venue for Olympic and Paralympic athletes, a legacy for athletic development post Games and a new community sports amenity.
• Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Celebration Plaza will host performances and celebrations during the Games, including the Paralympic Closing Ceremony. Post Games, it will serve as an outdoor gathering and event space and an Olympic and Paralympic Games landmark legacy for visitors and residents.
• The Whistler Conference Centre received $3 million toward renovations, providing an improved meetings and events experience, which will help Whistler build this important business sector.
  Financial tools, that is, incremental revenue from the hotel tax (previously two per cent of the provincial hotel tax came to resort communities, this increased to six per cent) from the provincial government that contributes an estimated $7 million annually to the resort and will help Whistler achieve its goal of financial sustainability.
• Boundary expansion, approved in 2007, gives the municipality jurisdiction and better capability to manage its watersheds and growth management policies along its boundaries. The total area of Whistler increased to 24,300 hectares from 16,500.
• Representation on the Whistler Legacies Society, the not-for-profit agency that will own, manage and operate Whistler Olympic Park, The Whistler Sliding Centre and the Whistler Athletes Centre post Games will give the community the opportunity to affect future use of these venues.
• Representation on the board for the 2010 Games Operating Trust, which will provide funding to help maintain and operate Whistler Olympic Park and The Whistler Sliding Centre, will allow Whistler to assist with the continued development of high-performance amateur sport.
• Whistler Olympic/Paralympic Park will be the competition venue for biathlon, ski jumping,
  Nordic combined and cross-country ski events during the Games. Post Games, it will be a legacy for the enjoyment of local residents, visitors and athletes in a variety of uses ranging from recreational to high-performance.
• The Whistler Sliding Centre will host the bobsleigh, luge and skeleton events during the Olympic Games, and will provide a visitor, athlete and event hosting legacy post Games, in both summer and winter.
• Enhanced snow-making is available on Whistler Mountain as a result of Games investment.
  Accelerated completion of safety upgrades and capacity improvements to the Sea to Sky Highway will leave a lasting legacy for visitors, residents and businesses alike.
  
  

“The 2010 Winter Games will be a time in our history not to be repeated. I look forward to experiencing it with you.”

— Whistler Mayor Ken Melamed

• The Sea to Sky Corridor received a $1.4-million Olympic legacy from a GE donation of a new 64-slice CT scanner to be located in the Whistler Health Care Centre before the Games. The scanner will be used to diagnose athletes during the Games and will be a legacy to be used by the region in perpetuity.
• Hydrogen buses, resulting from the Province of British Columbia investing in the world's first hydrogen bus fleet, and fuelling stations for Whistler and Victoria will make Whistler part of a larger hydrogen highway running from here to San Diego, with 20 new buses on Whistler roads by 2009.
• A new natural gas pipeline will be constructed by Terasen Gas in March 2009. The community will experience an immediate 15-per-cent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions with the conversion from propane to natural gas.
• BC Hydro's installation of a new substation in 2006 in Function Junction is increasing the overall capacity and reliability of service to the community.
• Environment Canada is setting up three state-of-the-art weather stations to help improve mountain weather forecasts: at the 1,650-metre mark of Whistler Mountain; at the top of the Garbanzo Chair; and on Mount Waddington on the British Columbia coast – upstream in the weather flow to the Whistler area.
• More telecommunication services will result from Bell installing 286 kilometres of fibre-optic cable from Vancouver to Whistler, ensuring a legacy of improved telephone, TV and digital services for Whistler residents. Additional fibre-optic cable is being installed in the village to add permanent capacity for broadcast and event services.
• Strong tourism brand and destination awareness will result from being on the world stage, for three billion TV viewers and many thousands of international visitors.
• Local business success will be achieved through: the many local contracts secured to build competition and non-competition venues; the scores of retailers carrying VANOC merchandise; and the others involved in Games-time contracts for catering, commercial space rentals and accommodations.
• Increased public art will celebrate local and international talent and Whistler's growing arts, culture and heritage sector.
• Cultural opportunities will be supported through Games sponsor funding toward the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre, and the Cultural Capitals designation and funding Whistler secured for 2009.
• Whistler will provide enhanced accessibility for people with disabilities, making it one of the most accessible resort communities in the world.
• Skills, capacity and learning development will result from Whistler residents' involvement and volunteering with the Games, and will be transferable to other elements of community-building and economic opportunities.
• Lasting partnerships with Canada, the Province, Vancouver, First Nations and others will help Whistler continue to build a stronger resort community.
• Working together to execute the 2010 Winter Games Strategic Framework, Whistler's key stakeholders will continue to build stronger relationships as they move closer to the concept of “Whistler Incorporated.”
• Community-wide knowledge and pride that Whistler residents' entrepreneurial spirit, diverse skill-set and “can-do” attitude will help enable the community to achieve anything that it sets out to accomplish.