R.i.p.?

Could this be the very end? http://vancouver.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=bc_skeena20040917

Unfortunately, I think it was over a long time ago. Prince Rupert better find a way to pick itself up before it falls off the map and into oblivion.

[size=24]fuck 'em[/size]

What do you mean fall in to oblivion? Our tourism industry is growing year by year. This year we had one major cruise ship stop over for 9 hours every Thursday. Next year we are going to have 4.

Also the port expansion will bring 2000 new jobs in the northwest by 2009.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2004/06/17/cn040617.html

I think actually the future is bright for Prince Rupert. Granted some things like hotels are reporting down numbers but in the long run it should be great.

Just as long as we don’t turn out like Ketchikan

If not having a big, smelly, ugly, destructive factory means oblivion, then I say we fall. Besides, tourism will do a lot better if we don´t cut down all our trees.

I dont think that you realize how many trees are here.

[quote=“hoshq”]

If not having a big, smelly, ugly, destructive factory means oblivion, then I say we fall. Besides, tourism will do a lot better if we don´t cut down all our trees.[/quote]

Like all the trees that were coincidently cut down infront of Mariners Park before the first ship arrived? The trees that were cut down for “structural re-alignment” or something for the new road, that are just going to cause the park to settle and drift down the hill. I don’t think they realise how much land shifts in this town when there aren’t trees there to hold it up.

Frankly I’m glad to see the end coming to the whole debacle. I hoped that it would work out, but at this point I would rather see a swift end than a drawn out death. One of the major problems with Prince Rupert is that far too many people’s view of how we’re doing is tied into that place. It’s always been this huge psychological crutch for the community. As others have pointed out… Prince Rupert has a lot going for it right now and a lot coming in the near future. With continued hard work this city can once again grow and be prosperous.

With the mill gone, maybe people will start to wake up and smell the coffee.

Mike

At least we don’t have to smell the mill.

That mill meant work for a lot of men, and food for a lot of families. A lot of good people left when it shut down. If PR can find some other way to reclaim a steady source of income to the community and prosper once again then great. Maybe some of the people who left wil come back, though highly unlikely.

True enough… although people will always find something to complain about. Wait until the port expansion is fully completed. All those people with expensive houses overlooking that area are going to hear a lot more noise coming from the port than they ever thought possible. Of course noise won’t make you sick like the smell of the mill would…lol

Mike

the ‘new’ port will be wrapped aroudn towards ridley more than you think, i think. i dont know of >any< houses that really overlook the super port to any degree

at any rate, noise pollution sucks, but at least its nto dioxins

Yes it did mean a lot of work, but it is old, its in worse shape now that it was two+ yrs ago.

Like most northern towns this goes in cycles. When I moved here in '86 B Mill was shut down. A mill was the only one running. B was restarted in oh I think '89-90? maybe? I cant recall.

The mill ran for another decade, falling in and out of bankruptcy, strikes etc a few times. The world is a growing place, not a shrinking one. I think Rupert is well suited to take some advantage of that fact.

Stewart has always been a very cyclic boom/bust town. Mining/foresty. People clear out of Stewart for years then a boom, place fills up with new people for another few years, then crash.

Ruperts been insulated from that for many years to a large degree, we are now experiencing that boom/bust cycle now.

I really have to commend the Port on what they have done the last 4 yrs. It was not trivial to attract cruise ships to this town, it was not trivial to get a large shipping company to invest here. If the containerization happens it will be bigger than the mill ever was.

Sure a lot of familes/people left, but things seem to have stablized now to some degree. There are people moving here, there are people moving away.

The real-estate market has taken an upward turn this year. Its not all rosy but things do seem to be looking up, even if a little. Weve seen bad, we may see worse, but I feel kind of optimistic about the next 12-18 months will bring something better to Rupert.

But I hardly think we’ll end up like an Ocean Falls.

The hopeless PR pulp mill is old news. Get over it.

As for the tourism, like I said before… you would be surprised how much of a difference it would make if the town in general was more friendlier.
I lived in Prince Rupert for nearly two years and noticed that there was a lot of bitter people. A simple smile on the street would give PR a friendly reputation to keep tourists flowing through the town. Smithers is a prime example of that.
I really admire the business people of PR. I think they are doing a great job of maintaining their small businesses. They have great ideas and never give up. Kudos to them.