Dear Editor:
Re: Dark Days in West Van, a District That Lost its Soul, March 14 Mailbox.
I think Susan Thomas should run for Mayor of West Vancouver! Her letter was bang on.
I am a powered wheelchair user and live off of Marine Drive between 27th and 31st Streets. If I wish to go out on a balmy summer evening, I take my life into my hands as there are no sidewalks or street lights down my street or many of the other streets. It is a total blackout. If I need to cross over Marine Drive, the pedestrian crossing is unlit. Not that that actually makes a whole lot of difference, as the traffic during the day will whizz past me whilst I patiently wait by the crosswalk. Some drivers even have the cheek to wave at me!
Lower Bellevue Avenue to Dundarave badly needs resurfacing. I would use Marine Drive to get to Dundarave or Ambleside however, the sidewalk, especially during spring/summer, is narrow with overhanging shrubs, plants and steep access points by driveways all making this an unpleasant experience.
There is a distinct lack of accessibility to many shops. The worst and inexcusable example being the new outside stores in Park Royal. Only one or two of the stores are accessible. Seriously?! For new buildings, this should be mandatory. Instead one has to sit outside (often in the pouring rain) waiting for someone to come along and open the door. I will stop rabbiting on about this as my list of complaints in this regard is extensive.
How could the municipality have got it so wrong in the planning of Ambleside and Dundarave? There are so many missed opportunities. Isn’t there someone in the municipality who ensures the mix of shops at least are right. Ambleside is particularly bizarre. Nail salon after nail salon, five gas stations, endless financial institutions and a Shoppers Drug Mart that has certainly seen better days. The Hollyburn Medical building (of all places) has an underground car park which has more reserved spots for the employees than clients and only five disabled spots, of which only one is extra wide; the main building is not accessible from the car park and neither are the toilets or the waiting areas of the various practices/labs etc. All have heavy, unmanageable fire doors.
There is an aging demographic here in West Van. Where in Dundarave are these seniors meant to park? Where are the easily accessible parking stalls? There has been a sort of vacant garage lot opposite IGA on the north side for years. A three storey multi-storey parking lot could be built or used to extend the existing underground car park from IGA. Why don’t we have a decent gelato shop, a decent tea shop serving afternoon teas or a “ boutique” hotel? The Beach House in Dundarave would have been a perfect spot for a hotel, but no, let’s put in another chain restaurant. They could have planned to have a hotel above and Earls or another restaurant on the ground floor. Finally, all Shoppers Drug Marts or Pharmasaves in West Vancouver have a Canada Post outlet with the exception of Dundarave, with the nearest one for many being either a bus or car ride away in Ambleside. I thought we were meant to be encouraged to get out of ours cars?!
My husband and I pay the municipality through the nose in order to live here and what do we get in return? Nothing, just a council that has absolutely no vision whatsoever, apart from seeking to feather its own nest. So it would seem that they have lost their way and yes, West Vancouver has indeed lost its soul.
In closing, for wheelchair users to take transit or taxis on the North Shore is tantamount to suicide! And that dear readers is a whole other topic!
Gillian Innes
West Vancouver
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