Dear Editor:
I read with some amazement that West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith and half of council are portraying themselves as visionary in paving the way for three new highrise developments on Marine Drive, between Capilano Road and Park Royal.
That, coupled with suggestions that the traffic and transit situation will somehow, perhaps magically, be addressed by the time thousands of planned new housing units are built, really is a naive leap of faith.
I take the bus to and from downtown Vancouver every day. A newcomer could be excused for thinking that “Sorry Full” was the most common destination for buses during rush hour. If you can make it onto a bus at peak times, you will stand crammed into the aisle, cheek to jowl, and barely able to breathe, while an electronic voice cajoles you to “please move to the back of the bus.”
Transit operators are making a heroic effort, but the current situation is both physically taxing and unsafe.
We all get and largely support the argument that densification along efficient and functioning mass-transit corridors makes sense.
The problem is that both the roads and buses are already way beyond capacity with no solutions in sight.
The argument that TransLink will not put more buses through Marine Drive until the municipality first densifies further is a bit like self inflicting wounds to get quicker medical care.
Kudos to those wise councillors who realized that a bigger house requires a strong foundation and functioning services.
David Sheffield
West Vancouver
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
