Let's not squander this opportunity

I am writing to express my strong support for retaining all of the land accumulated by the City of Kelowna in the Cedar Avenue/Abbot Street area for public park.

I do not live in, or own property in, the immediate vicinity of the proposed development.  However, I was born and raised in Kelowna and I care deeply about the community and preserving the quality of life we are all so fortunate to enjoy.

I think our City’s Mayors and Councilors have shown tremendous foresight in assembling these properties over the years, and believe we are extremely fortunate that these lands were purchased when waterfront was still financially affordable.  I do not believe that the City will have a similar opportunity to purchase this type of land, in such close proximity to highly populated areas of the city, in the future.  The South Pandosy area is quickly changing into one of the City’s high density areas, and this density will only increase in subsequent years.

The population of Kelowna will continue to grow, putting increased pressure on our existing waterfront parks.

The 2008 Citizen Survey indicates that community access to desired waterfront parks is one of the top three things that make Kelowna a livable city.

For this reason, I believe that the best use of this land is to retain it all as accessible park for the whole community. 

As currently proposed, the park realistically only serves residents in the immediate area.  I feel that we need parking for residents and tourists who are not within walking distance of the park, and that development of condos and businesses can be successfully accommodated on the land between Abbott and Pandosy.

I understand that there are a lot of factors affecting the water quality at this site and that it may to not be ideal for swimming.  However, there are many other uses for such a park: laying/sunning on the grass, playing with children, having picnics, throwing a frisbee, playing catch, flying a kite, etc. 

Last weekend I biked the sea wall in Vancouver with my family. We all commented on the tremendous foresight it took for the cities forefathers to have set aside such a fabulous area for use by all the city’s citizens. There are very few areas of Stanley Park suitable for swimming, but the park was packed with families and individuals taking advantage of this wonderful asset.

We have a opportunity to look beyond the short-sighted proceeds from the sale of these properties, and instead provide a valuable and irreplaceable resource for our children, grandchildren, tourists and future generations.

Let’s not squander this opportunity.

Paul Mitchell