Our Dave Pollock drove up from Victoria today to give a great 30-minute presentation at a luncheon (I recommend the Silver Bridge Inn's curry on rice and pumpkin pie) hosted by the Duncan Rotary Club. He and Rotary president Dr. Bill Code had met previously at the Trestle during the Muscular Dystrophy 'Grape Escape' bicycle run of two Sundays ago. This is a reminder to all that the Island Corridor Foundation, new owners of the E&N Railway, are interested in developing cyclist excursions to the Kinsol Trestle from the Shawnigan railway station once the original trestle is restored. Because Rotarians are primarily business and professional people, Dave emphasized the practical side of saving the Kinsol as an integral link in the Trans Canada Trail. He reminded them that the monetary difference between the cost of demolition of the existing trestle and the building of an imitation bridge is estimated to be only about $1-1.5 million less than full restoration of the original. This is not a large sum when you consider the resulting value in tourism dollars would be immense. American visitors are down dramatically this year and it's predicted that they will continue to decline. Canada's future markets are European, Japanese and, ever more so, Chinese tourists. The latter seem to be more interested in our natural wonders but Europeans, who have grown up in countries that respect, preserve and promote their heritage, enjoy history. (What an alien concept!) As we continue to point out, a pseudo-Kinsol will not attract them.
