Dear Editor:
With reference to the article Highrises Proposed for Lower Capilano (May 28), I have serious concerns regarding the residential towers proposed for the Grouse Inn and adjacent former gas station site at 2010 Marine Drive.
We cannot continue to support this kind of extreme residential growth when traffic gridlock is the Number 1 issue across the North Shore. We haven't even realized the impact other development projects (such as Evelyn Drive or Park Royal's proposed residential expansion) will have on an already serious traffic problem. And what is the status of Larco's development proposal for 2035 Fullerton? This project will only contribute to the nightmare.
Please do not try to tell us that people will take transit, or that we need more people in concentrated areas to make public transit viable. Our buses are already over capacity and every one of these new units will include at least one car. It's time the North Shore decided that massive increases in density is not the solution. I believe the majority of residents feel such density increases are destroying our quality of life.
Infrastructure has not kept up with the population growth. Lions Gate Hospital is in desperate need of a new CT scanner. We're having trouble scrounging up money to replace the existing scanner, let alone buy an additional one. If additional tax dollars from new development is the answer, why are westill unable to afford more buses or another SeaBus or a new CT scanner? You can't turn around without encountering another massive development.
We need to rethink this insatiable quest to develop with ever-increasing density. We have finite resources (water, land) and infrastructure (roads, sewage, hospital capacity, etc.). It is not possible to accommodate an infinite number of people, so the question that must be putforward is not how many can we accommodate, it is how many should we? This is for citizens to decide, not developers.
Development should happen at a much slower, more natural pace. Continuous growth is not only unsustainable, it creates inherent problems. We will pay a terrible price for endless growth, and creating high density neighbourhoods will not change the fact that perpetual population and economic growth are not solutions, rather, theyare the problem itself.
We need to put a stop to this before it's too late and the only thing that's achieved is the destruction of the very qualities that made the North Shore such a great place to live. If this means rescinding the OCP, then so be it.
I encourage like-minded citizens to make your opinion known by sending an email to dnvcouncil@dnv. org.
Melinda Slater
West Vancouver
