Dear Editor:
As a lifelong resident of North Vancouver for over 40 years, I’d like to express my pure disappointment with what is happening to the Grand Boulevard area. As the name suggests, Grand Boulevard, I find it a disgrace what they have done and continue to do to this area. Which was once a beautiful piece of North Vancouver, is now forever being changed.
It started with the approval of allowing the subdividing of some of the larger lots. Though they may not have been deemed heritage, there were some spectacular houses lining both the east and west side of the streets. Beautiful, well-established, mature gardens gave Grand Boulevard that extra bit of pizzazz. Some, and I’m sure many more will surface over time, have been bulldozed down making room for two, if not three houses. A real shame.
In addition, there is now a bike and walking path (the Green Necklace) being constructed on the actual boulevard. Though I understand this is for the elderly and disabled to enjoy the park as well, and this I fully support, rather than ruining the look of the “grand” park by lining it with asphalt on both sides, why would one not have upgraded the already existing path in the middle of the park?
Not only would it maintain the look of the current park, it would also be a much more enjoyable pathway lined with mature trees and mature flowering shrubs. Much nicer than overlooking a street with construction on either side, don’t you think?
What was once a gem in the heart of North Vancouver is, like many other places in this city, becoming a concrete jungle. Again, a real shame. In my opinion, the grandeur of Grand Boulevard has been lost forever.
Michelle Meijer
North Vancouver
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