Dear Editor:
As a 42-year resident of West Vancouver and now retired in Ambleside, I felt it my civic duty to attend the AmblesideNow streetscape public open house on Feb. 9 at the West Vancouver Memorial Library.
To quote council candidate Gregg Henderson, West Vancouver is looking to put a fountain in the courtyard before repairing the leaky roof!
The police station is crumbling, the main fire hall inadequate and, in the event of the big one, the old clay pipes supplying water to put out earthquake fires will be kaput.
Solution: Amalgamate emergency services with North Vancouver - but not all in the same spot. Take note of the fire back east that burnt out the municipal hall, fire hall and police station, destroying all records and, but for the heroic effort of a fireman, would have destroyed the two fire engines that eventually put the fire out.
How many councillors have actually walked up one side and down the other Ambleside from 13th to 19th Streets, on a rainy, mid-week day? Better still, with a baby stroller, elderly person on their arm, wheelchair or with a cane even? They will find they will have to walk to the edge of the curb, and get splashed by passing traffic, when they come to those bus shelters. People standing at the shelters with umbrellas often don't move.
Street interest? What street interest? Unless you want to look at people eating sushi, having their toe nails cut, blank, bank walls and real estate photographs. Coun. Craig Cameron told me that council has no say as to what businesses go in. Tim Hortons got nixed.
At this meeting, I mentioned to Cameron, that an atrium in the proposed 1300-block development would encourage vagrants to use it to their purpose. I am told that is what happened in Penticton! To my utter surprise his answer was that there are no vagrants in West Vancouver. On a recent Sunday two, at different times, were sitting on the bench on the southwest corner of 14th and Marine, one screaming out obscenities at 9 a.m.
West Vancouver is my lovely home; with all its flaws, nothing is perfect. However, having a big time developer come in and think they can gentrify the 1300-block by putting up a pair of eightstorey mid-rises and turning a village into a Yaletown is most misguided. The proposed upper residences will only be affordable to more millionaires who will not necessarily support the small local businesses. Yes, folks, wake up and smell the coffee, if we let all this happen there will be no turning back. The Safeway site proposal of 10-to 15-storey towers was nixed. If we let even eight storeys appear in the 1300-block more will follow. Keep the 1300-block to the same height as the 1400-block. Anything else and it will look a perfect eyesore we can only live to regret.
A very concerned Ambleside resident.
Christine Ballantine West Vancouver
