During a Committee of the Whole meeting on April 29, the RMOW Council was invited to view sketches that reimagine Lake Placid Road. The Lake Placid Road Neighbourhood Study envisions what high-density housing could look like in Creekside.
The section on the west side of Highway 99, between the Co-op fuel station and Nita Lake Lodge, is the subject of a Neighbourhood Study. The new concept imagines a “high-street” development model, with townhouses on the south side of the street and condos on the north side, bordering pedestrian walkways.
“It’s not a plan, it’s not a design, it’s simply a study at this point in time,” said Dale Mikkelsen, Climate Action, Planning and Development Services Manager.
The area, RMOW notes, is “well-connected to transit, groceries and amenities, and is near the ski resort, the lakes and the Valley Trail.
Lake Placid Road is already zoned in Whistler’s Official Community Plan (OCP) as “Core Commercial – Whistler Creek” and Lake Placid Road was the subject of a neighbourhood study conducted in 1991.
At the meeting, Council was largely supportive of the vision, with some councillors highlighting future redevelopment as an opportunity to address pedestrian safety and traffic congestion on Highway 99. Others expressed concern about the possibility of Creekside straying too far from its roots as Whistler’s first “village.”
As Councillor Ralph Forsyth noted, the concept presented “looks really urban.” “It’s exciting, but I’m fearful at the same time. I would hate to lose the form and character of the original Creekside,” he said.
Mayor Jack Crompton expressed his excitement at the prospect of driving density “at the base of the ski hill, in a ski town”—especially if the area maintains “its Creekside vibe.” “I think this is going to be one of the best places to live in Whistler for someone who works and lives in Whistler,” he said.