BUSINESS A20 CALENDAR A12 CLASSIFIEDS A23 COMMUNITY Atl1 GARDENING Al6 OPINION AQ SPORTS Al7 OUTDOORS A21 BEYER AQ CROSS Al10 GRENBY A20 HAMPSON A21 LANG Al6 TOP OF THE PILE A9 WALLBERG A19 NO BIRDS ALLOWED A disgruntled dog buys Roberis Bay and plans to tum if into a personal playground Page A4 NEW FOCUS AT SHOW Victoria artists travel here for a show wiih a different bent. Images of Ouifalls opens Sunday Page Al9 BACK TO THE ALR Developers peiition the land commission To have residential land covered wiih Top soil Page A24 ‘| HIGH SPEED STANDARDBRED Sandown Raceway is asked 10 make comers wider for a 72 mph hamess racehorse Page C5 Review Office Hours The Review office, at 9726 First St. in Sidney, is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Mail to Box zm 2070, Sidney, BC. V8L 3S5. i — Audited Circulation 12,762 A Victoria Weeklies Publication Wednesday, April 1,1992 50¢ Nine-foot alligator spotted at Elk Lake No cars on highway — secret report by Valorie Lennox The Review Automobiles will be banned from the Pat Bay Highway as of May 1, if recommendations in a secret Healthy Atmosphere 2000 report are adopted by the Capital Regional District. The report, tabled last week, recommended all internal combus- tion engines be banned from the highway. A similar ban is recom- mended on West Saanich Road and other secondary arterial routes as of June 1. “Tt’s tough medicine but it’s the only way to get people out of their Cars and preserve the atmos- phere,” the unsigned report notes. “The future of our planet is at stake.” The report recommends: ° As of May 1, no vehicles powered by internal combustion engines be permitted on major provincial highways. As of June 1, the ban would extend to all secon- dary arterial routes and by July 1, to all roads on the Island. Any vehicle found on the high- way after those dates will be confiscated, the engine removed and the engine compartment rilled with soil and flowers. The vehicle will then be left on the side of the toad as a decorative planter. e The speed limit on the high- way will be limited to 20 kilo- metres per hour. * Only vehicles carrying four passengers or more will be permit- ted to use the fast lane of the highway. e Individual bicycles and horse- drawn vehicles will be permitted to use the slow lane. Horse-drawn vehicles must be followed by a clean-up crew. : © Special walkers-only lane B.C. Tel blowing lines clear B.C. Tel customers in the Sidney and North Saanich areas (655 and 656 prefix) are advised to take their telephones off the hook between 4 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. today (Wednesday) as the phone company undertakes essential maintenance. Engineers will take that oppor- tunity to blow excess water from the system gathered during the recent laying of new phone lines, said a spokesman for the company, Alex Bell. Mobile phones will continue to operate during that time but lower bass tones will not ring true and local calls may be subject to background gurgling sounds. B.C. Tel assures that facsimile systems will not be affected, except for lower case letters which may smudge slightly. In the event of moisture acci- dentally entering the auditory canal during this time, B.C. Tel says if is impervious of blame. Switchboard operators will nng subscribers at 4:15 p.m. to inform them when they can put phones back on the hook. Management at B.C. Tel apolo- gizes for the inconvenience and is negotiating the purchase of a water-proof fiber optic system to prevent recurrence of the problem. will be constructed on both sides of the highway, complete with water fountains every four miles. The report also recommends the transit system be upgraded and improved, with the introduction of solar-cycle powered buses. These buses would operate on solar- powered roof-mounted batteries in fine weather and by passenger- generated pedal power when the skies are overcast. by Valorie Lennox The Review Recent sightings of alligators in the offshore shallows of Elk Lake have Capital Regional District Parks officials considering a clo- sure of the popular swimming spot this summer. Parks coordinator June Seed- house said there had been three sightings of at least two of the nine-foot creatures, all in the remote reaches of the lake. Parks staff speculate the alligators might have been former pets abandoned at the lake when they grew too large for the owner to keep. Attempts to trap the alligators have been unsuccessful. “They are very wary of humans,” Seedhouse said. She suggested the reptiles may have a grudge against humans, after being abandoned at the lake. Although the alligators are now thriving on a diet of oversize Rana Catesbeiana bullizogs, parks staff fear the alligators will switch to other prey if the frog legs run short. : The Canadian national rowing team, which regularly practices at the lake, now equips the coxswain with a pistol to ward off an alligator attack. Parks staff recommend against swimming in the lake and suggest anyone planning to windsurf or boat on the lake also carry some form of weapon. Although they have been unable to catch the alligators, Seedhouse said parks staff have been taking steps to protect the public.