Dear Editor:
Re: North Shore developers getting away without providing enough parking
Peter B. Raabe suggests that it is absurd for developers to provide 1.5 parking spots per unit because every adult will need their own car. On the contrary, I find more and more people are living without cars, especially when they live in neighbourhoods close to all the amenities, as most of these new condo buildings are. Also, I am amazed at how many teenagers are not interested in even getting a licence, let alone a car. They are very comfortable on transit.
I live in a building with 19 residential units on Chesterfield Avenue and six of those units do not own a car. Obviously, they are not the ones who have children needing to go to school or daycare, or who need a car for work. What most of them do when they need a car, like for a big shop at Costco, is make use of the car-sharing companies like EVO. (Bonus: they run hybrids)
People are understanding that the days of the automatic two-car family are gone. Many people do bike to work, even in the rain and snow, and have cargo bikes so they can take their kids to school too. Car-sharing, and even the occasional taxi, is way cheaper than owning a car.
He says that transit does not relocate bus stops to serve individual buildings but is walking a couple of blocks to a stop too much to ask? We all need more exercise and, in Vancouver, using an umbrella should not be a deterrent to getting out of your car.
The climate is changing, our collective health is deteriorating, and we need to make changes. This is an acknowledgment of that reality, and an encouraging step in the right direction.
Constance Blundy
North Vancouver
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