Saturday, January 19, 2013

Sign Of The Times


62 comments:

Anonymous said...

ahhhaha a joke? right ?

Anonymous said...

Pretty soon that sign will be on the sewer and water systems.Tourist daycare as well.Ukee looking pretty good about now.

Ralph Tieleman said...

No joke !!

Anonymous said...

This is just the start of the new restructure.Soon there will be parking spots for tourists only.WAit ! There already is RV parking only......we are f**ked !

Anonymous said...

This must be a joke ? A tasteless joke !

Anonymous said...

Seriously folks, this is embarrassing. This sign reeks of "POLICE STATE". What kind of message does this send to tourists who come to to Tofino to see "wildness". A real turn off in my opinion. It pushes people away from Tofino. Totally out of sync with what we're all about here on the west coast.

As for video surveillance, is the DOT being truthful or are they lying? Do these devices exist or is this fear mongering? Is there any other way to get the message across than by strong-arming people?

We need to find out who is responsible for this? Is it perhaps the same goof-ball who ordered no parking signs ever few meters on the non-beach side of Lynn Rd. and Chesterman Beach Rd.? An absolute eyesore.


Anonymous said...

Are locals allowed to take bottles out of the trash or are they reserved for Tourist Bottle Pickers ??? Is the new RMI Manager monitoring the video feed from the trash cans ?? Maybe bylaw can do a stake-out .

Ralph Tieleman said...

Can you use the litter barrel if you are from Ucluelet ? Long Beach ? or do you have to be from the other side of the pass ? Let's hire a consultant and some lawyers to get a legal definition of "Tourist" What if your trash comes from McDonalds in Port Alberni or Nanaimo ? Then it isn't "local" trash .....

Anonymous said...

Too many questions Ralph. Now the DOT is going to have to hire more consultants to answer those questions. ;-)

Shmerry Punk said...

The only local trash is the idiots that post on this blog.Maybe if you would have stayed in school you would understand the complexities of running a resort town.

Anonymous said...

Heaven forbid should a local use the refuse container at the beach. This could very well happen. As you can see in this DOT Bylaw Enforcement training video, they mean business! (Not for the squeamish!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QDbQKzPA5k&playnext=1&list=PLVWcq8SfK3zd_sOfreNllrZpdeJ9-Mq1A&feature=results_main

Ralph Tieleman said...

Blog more entertaining than Canucks tonight.

Anonymous said...

This must be a hoax.Who photoshopped the pic ?

Ralph Tieleman said...

I took the pic myself.It is real

Anonymous said...

More like... The Vancouver Cannots

Anonymous said...

Bad game ! Go Leafs !

Anonymous said...

Lou !!

Anonymous said...

Locals who put their dog-do bags in the litter barrel after a beach walk will not only be under the scrutiny of CCTV cameras but can be also prosecuted to the full extent of the law by the Department of Trash.

How shitty.

Anybody see the movie, Brazil?

Anonymous said...

Locals - throw your garbage on the ground. Super.

Anonymous said...

Ralph, Where is the sign?

Ralph Tieleman said...

The sign is at the Cox Bay information centre

Andrew Pasel said...

The only way for this to work correctly is for the system to be able to determine who is a tourist and who is a local. I can foresee barcodes implanted in our wrists and a scanner on the trash can. If you have an address here your barcode won't open the can. Mark of the beast here we come!

Anonymous said...

This sign has been at the Cox Bay Visitor Centre for a LONG TIME. I'm not saying it's correct, just that it's not new. Angry blog posters should get out from behind their computer screens and take a look around your town!

Anonymous said...

Maybe it's just a stupid sign that should have said something like "No Residential Garbage". Get over it - any yes, you should move to Ucluelet.

Anonymous said...

A new take on "In Camera".

Anonymous said...

parking for tourists only ...walking on this beach for tourists only ...this sidewalk tourists only ...no flushing toilets or use of water by locals when tourists are in the area...by the way ...taxes are going up for locals to support their infrastructure ....remember to bow when you see a tourist, answer all questions immediately and then remain two steps back and off to the side to see if they require any further help ...

jim schwartz said...

fool: We speak of the world as illusion, yet everything in it follows rigid laws, which proves it to be well-planned and well-regulated.

cod: he who projected the illusion gave it the appearance of order and sound planning.

Anonymous said...

this is just a molecule of more laws and more repression.
the great strides in innovation in n. america have been due to the absence of rigid traditions in thought and behaviour. that was a by product of freedom(from tradition; religion or otherwise).
prohibitive laws and more & more laws seem to make politicians feel like they are doing what they can to prevent everything from carbon to dancing. really bad things. tsk tsk.
it gives the fun police something to do.
in the long run, instead of rigid traditions, like europe and asia have, the future of prohibitive laws here means the end of innovation.
fear stagnation and beaurockrazy rule in n. america.
just sayin..

Anonymous said...

Shmerry Punk, I don't think YOU understand the complexities of trying to live in a resort town!
While most people here welcome the tourists that come, they desire community first. that seems to be lost, thanks to the powers that be and have been.

Zoƫ said...

oh c'mon, this has GOT to be a joke?

Anonymous said...

Can someone tell me who at the DOT gave the final approval for the sign?

This needs to go public.

Anonymous said...

This whole "Resort Municipality" bullshit has gone too far.

Raul Estate said...

Clearly in Tofino for locals, putting garbage in a tourist trashcan is a "last resort"!!!

Glad that CSIS has a video surveillance operation going in case some Tofino Al-Qaeda operative has plans for terrorist trash!

Anonymous said...

Those stupid no parking signs at Chestermans Beach are counter-productive.No Parking,No beach fires,No dancing,No live music all add up to no fun.Tourists like fun.

Shmerry Punk said...

This intersection for TOURIST USE ONLY.Locals please enter town from Gibson St. behind Shelter.Please walk to the Coop and CIBC so as to not take parking spots from tourists.Don't wash your car or water your garden in summer as water is for tourists.

Anonymous said...

this sign is a waste of stupidity.

Anonymous said...

this sign is a waste of stupidity.

Anonymous said...

This town is for tourists only seems to be the direction council is headed! Move aside community, we've got a resort comming! Don't get in our way or we'll run you over.

Anonymous said...

Did my civic duty today and dropped off some garbage at the info centre. I smiled for the camera!

Anonymous said...

A masterful job of stirring things up Ralph. Bait the ever-faithful followers who don't think to question when the sign actually went up and what the intent might be (i.e., no residential dumping). Sure it was a poor choice of words, but your beloved tax-payer dollars pay to pick up and haul away dumped garbage. Listen to yourselves people - Police State? Really? Think critically; consider the source.

Anonymous said...

by municipal fiat HG the new director of resort services has ordered the DOT shall henceforth be called the resort municipality of finito.
all workers will be re-located to affordable housing units in port alberni within the next 6 months.
in the interests of tourist resort safety public washrooms, trash bins, parking lots, parks, playgrounds, trails, streets, & sidewalks shall be under video surveillance at all times to insure tourist use only.
there will be no illicit dancing or drunkenness allowed except in special tourist designations to be monitored by the fun police. workers caught in these places will be photographed and arrested.
water and toilet use shall be bare minium for workers to conserve water for tourist and resort unlimited use.
no further construction of worker homes shall be permitted.
all noise not required for the comfort, enjoyment,and safety of tourists shall be prohibited.
henceforth to preserve the viewscape no vessels, boats, floats, barges or other marine craft are allowed in the harbour in daylight hours except those moored in scenic repose.
workers shall go to work and go home immediately afterwards.
the beaches are for tourists and tourist dog use only.
beach parking as well.
all workers must wear protective equipment at all times if walking, surfing, shopping, gardening, riding a wheeled vehicle, or any other activity that could be viewed by tourists.
edict: the HG of FINITO
all directives herein shall by implemented by the fun police and the by-law dept.

Ralph Tieleman said...

7:53 Thank you for the compliment.Perhaps you will consider writing an editorial. Things need stirring up .

Anonymous said...

hello 7:53
yes police state. social control.
the sign is just an example.
a sign of the times.
tried dancing lately?


Anonymous said...

When there's a pot full of shit simmering you have to stir it!

Anonymous said...

Please keep stirring things up or we'll have traffic circles and raspberry patches everywhere.

Anonymous said...

Instead of having staff watching the video feed from the garbage can they could be filling potholes by the Shore on Main St. Tourists and locals alike hate potholes.

Anonymous said...

Since the major rise in tourism we have been forbidden to dance at the legion,have a sociable beer at the beach,smoke a joint....but the law ignores the Vacation Rental Bylaws.....now we are forbidden to park near Vacation Rentals at Chesterman's Beach and we can't even use the garbage can our "beloved tax dollars" paid for.....

Anonymous said...

7:53 you miss the point of this blog. humor and ridicule. other issues sometimes.
if you dont like humor and ridicule dont read this.
call the fun police.

Anonymous said...

753. Thank you. why is it so easy to get pissed off, we would be better off if we could identify problems and constructively find a solution. Residents have garbage picked up every thursday and if you have too much make sure recyclables are separated or spend the money and take it to the dump. If a tourist stops at the info center and the garbage can is packed with residential garbage it doesn't look good on the community. For the so many on here that believe we are slaves to the tourist, where do you think we would be without them? our forests would be logged, our oceans would be packed with farms, Catface would be missing it's face, the list goes on. It's easy to hate them, especially when they run the stop sign at 4th and campbell but without them we would be worse off. Of course, if we give them a canned culture when they arrive we are giving up part of ourselves. What is this culture we can offer? a pissed off attitude towards the world/society? not very appealing, we have a culture of rugged, isolated, self sustaining people. We can give them this. But again, if when they arrive the garbage is already full of our grabage then, they may just see a bunch of pissed off isolated people.

Hosting these tourists properly is our best otion for our communities future sustainability. Without the toursists we are left with taking advantage of (harvesting) the natural resources.

For any of you that can access twitter or facebook, take a look at what Josie is doing. An article posted this morning reflects Nanaimos similar predicament. Reading the comments looks like a mirrored immage of these comments. pissed off. Maybe there is something deeper rooted than the individuals. Lets stop attacking individuals and try to fix our broken system. If we can be productive and forthcomming maybe Tofino can be a model for other communities and not just carbon copy of all these other dysfinctional communities. We are better than this.

This blog does play a role for Tofino. I believe it has encouraged acountaility however, stirring the pot often creates polarity which, in turn, become counter productive.

Anonymous said...

753. Thank you. why is it so easy to get pissed off, we would be better off if we could identify problems and constructively find a solution. Residents have garbage picked up every thursday and if you have too much make sure recyclables are separated or spend the money and take it to the dump. If a tourist stops at the info center and the garbage can is packed with residential garbage it doesn't look good on the community. For the so many on here that believe we are slaves to the tourist, where do you think we would be without them? our forests would be logged, our oceans would be packed with farms, Catface would be missing it's face, the list goes on. It's easy to hate them, especially when they run the stop sign at 4th and campbell but without them we would be worse off. Of course, if we give them a canned culture when they arrive we are giving up part of ourselves. What is this culture we can offer? a pissed off attitude towards the world/society? not very appealing, we have a culture of rugged, isolated, self sustaining people. We can give them this. But again, if when they arrive the garbage is already full of our grabage then, they may just see a bunch of pissed off isolated people.

Hosting these tourists properly is our best otion for our communities future sustainability. Without the toursists we are left with taking advantage of (harvesting) the natural resources.

For any of you that can access twitter or facebook, take a look at what Josie is doing. An article posted this morning reflects Nanaimos similar predicament. Reading the comments looks like a mirrored immage of these comments. pissed off. Maybe there is something deeper rooted than the individuals. Lets stop attacking individuals and try to fix our broken system. If we can be productive and forthcomming maybe Tofino can be a model for other communities and not just carbon copy of all these other dysfinctional communities. We are better than this.

This blog does play a role for Tofino. I believe it has encouraged acountaility however, stirring the pot often creates polarity which, in turn, become counter productive.

Anonymous said...

Josie fully supports this council and their Restructuring.

Ralph Tieleman said...

Signs like the one at the garbage can create more friction and polarity than this pathetic blog is capable of.Even the designation of the town as a " Resort Municipality" promotes conflict.Like it or not Tofino still needs a diversified economy.Tourism should be promoted as well as small business.Instead of a nasty sign at the Info Centre why not have a dumpster at the Public Works yard for people that miss the garbage truck . There must be some kind of workable solution.

Anonymous said...

How can Tofino be a model for other communities when we fire employees that are valued by the community. Give your head a shake !

Anonymous said...

re 9:30.
fixing this crap is impossible with the puppets we have running the place.
more laws. more enforcement. more signs. more dumbness.
the thought police are alive and well respected.
social well being is a major asset of this place however when the parks and rec lady is turfed after 20 years i think it doesnt contribute to anybodys sense of social well being except maybe the puppets.

Christine Edwards said...

Ralph, I was the manager of the info centres and take full responsibility for the creation of the sign at the Cox Bay location about 2 years ago.
Please allow me to explain.
Every day we came into work and had to empty the can which was filled with household refuse from neighboring properties. 2-3 big black bags EVERY DAY. We had no storage for it and once the district stopped collecting our garbage for us, it became a draw for bears and an eye sore. Not exactly the first impression we wanted to give visitors, wouldn't you say?
It got so bad that we had to bring in the dumpster that is probably still there to deal with it. In retrospect, perhaps "No Household Refuse" would have been a far better choice of wording, however it never occurred to me that the people of Tofino would ever look at it as anything but what it was.....a way to stop the lazy asses who couldn't be bothered to have their garbage out by 8am from dumping their crap into the can.
I tried to do a good job representing Tofino in my time there and it blows my mind that something like that could be interpreted as an attack on the locals.
7:52 you should climb back into your basement and continue to peruse your conspiracy theories, there are none surrounding the poorly worded sign.

Ralph Tieleman said...

Thank you for your comment !! Much appreciated .

7:52 said...

Christine,

I appreciate your past efforts in trying to constructively trying to solve the garbage issue at the info center. I can also relate to your angst over the lazy-ass behaviors of some locals that you experienced back then. How you get people to be more responsible or care is the sixty-four thousand dollar question. I have no answers. Signs are designed to channel human behaviors, but they don't always work. Whenever it suits them, people will quite often take the path of least resistance, in this case dumping their refuse in a place where they are not supposed to in the wee hours. What they fail to realize is that their actions contribute to a greater whole of other shitty behaviors which eventually reflect poorly on our town.

What I reacted to most was the video surveillance part of your sign. I don't mind it being there, but only if it is true. If it is not, then it is a lie, and I don't care much for lies and intimidation. You are correct,the sign was poorly worded. You tried your best, however. Your caring does not go unappreciated, even two years later.

As for my basement hovel, it is the tidiest basement in Tofino. I religiously wake up early on garbage day in order to do my civic duty. ;-).

7:52



Christine said...

7:52 - The video surveillance part of the sign was meant to be a deterrent as the Cox Bay info centre is conveniently located outside of town and away from prying eyes. There were 2 break-ins at that office during my time there, as well as the garbage issue, which lead me to put the threat of video. The sign was never meant to be intimidating to anyone who was not looking at the office as an easy target.
I'd like to apologize for offending anyone as that was never my intention. Truly!
I would also like to say that most of our neighbours are wonderful, responsible people and the garbage issue was far worse in the summer when we had the influx of transients workers flood into the community for the summer.

Anonymous said...

Christine, thank you for your post. This kind of perspective is hard to find and as we discovered sheds some very important light on a subject that was getting out of hand. You should feel no regret for how you handled the grabage situation.

Anonymous said...

Locals can always throw their extra trash in one of the 753 resort dumpster. This resort town is a waste of stupdity, fight for your stupid right not to be stupid resort and go break some stupid resort rules.

Anonymous said...

Wow we pay for a camera to watch the trash... Let me say it again We pay for a Camera to watch the trash...the sign probably cost some money too. I gotta send this to Rick Mercier... you can't write this shit any better :) Who says DOT ain't having fun

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure that the obvious interpretation of this sign is that locals should use their own garbage disposal system and not dump their trash where the government has to pay to have it removed.

Most litter barrels in parks and other places are a courtesy to park-goers (and cost roughly $1000 each to empty each year).

So if residents were just throwing a candy wrapper or coffee cup into the trash why did this sign go up? Clearly someone is dumping *bags* of household trash there, which is not its intended purpose.