When I first moved to Squamish, I came in a truck towing a trailer that I lived in for my first seven months. It was a wonderful experience and a ton of work every day to maintain the lifestyle
Every year, 麻豆社国产council launches a new attack on that lifestyle, and it both breaks my heart and dumbfounds me to see it.
In my opinion, full-time vanlifers have never been the problem here.
People who live in their vans every day of the year have to be extra conscious of how they exist in public spaces, where they sleep, having to pack their whole “home” up just to drive ut to work in the morning, dispose of their waste etc.
In my opinion, 麻豆社国产does not have a vanlife problem; it has a problem due to the lack of public bathrooms and garbage cans. 麻豆社国产has a lack of affordable campsites problem and a tourist problem.
It’s not that tourists themselves are the problem, but rather how they are handled when they invade our small town.
Visitors come because 麻豆社国产has such incredible access to locally developed trail systems.
But there are not enough garbage cans and public outdoor toilets are nearly non-existent, and the ones that do are often in deplorable shape.
It’s as though those in charge of the town’s funds for waste management have never forgotten to go before leaving the house.
Thus, human waste does inevitably end up in our local green spaces. It contaminates our land and watercourses and is very much responsible for many of our town’s dog poisonings.
The dogs ingest the waste and any drugs that might be in there as well.
Wasting money hiring more bylaw staff does not help any of these issues.
If we spent more time and money accommodating those who utilize our public spaces and less cash on harassing people while they’re sleeping in their vans, we would be a lot better off.
Many of these Van-life locals have been here for years. They have full-time jobs and contribute to the economy in many other ways.
People will scream, “They don’t pay taxes!” Well, to that, I call BS. Most of the money they save every month on rent is spent in other ways in the community. It’s not like they just sit in their vans all day and night when they’re not at work. They shop, they eat out, they buy groceries, etc. They even volunteer for charities and local clean-up programs.
These same people are being scapegoated and shamed for a much larger issue than they could ever create: how our fast-growing town handles its waste.
Every time we let our elected representatives openly spit in the face of people living an alternative lifestyle in our town, we let them take away a little bit more of the soul that this town is truly all about.
Finally, legitimate un-housed people also need to also be included and respected in council’s decision.
Stay wild 麻豆社国产(but watch out for the land mines).
Bradley Harris
Squamish
