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An odd way to ‘go green’

Editor: Open house or done deal?

Editor:

Open house or done deal?

The City of Surrey invited residents of Ocean Park to a public open house Sept. 27 at Bayridge Elementary, in order to provide feedback on Kwomais Point Park and view the plans for road works at 128 Street and Marine Drive.

Representatives from parks and engineering departments presented their plans, along with displays. The parks department also provided an update on the 2008 master plan and looked for feedback on the implementation of that plan to date.

After presentations, the attending public were invited to add input.

On the surface all sounds good, however many underlying concerns came to light and were questioned.

To itemize a few:

• More trees to be cut down along 128 Street and in Kwomais Point Park

• Additional access roads and additional parking lot in the park

• Additional fencing in the park for possible off-leash dog-run area

• Traffic lights, speed bumps and/or crosswalk at intersection 128 Street and Marine Drive.

• Why was the open house held outside of the Ocean Park community area?

• How open and transparent is the City of Surrey in presenting the open house?

The Ocean Park community is growing; that is a fact. Traffic control and pedestrian safety is a concern; that, too, is a fact.

What is not fact – an absolute – is how we go about handling these changes.

The master plan adopted in 2008 is just that, a plan. Plans can be changed. Amendments can be made to what was adopted.

The City of Surrey states it’s “going green.”

Then why is more of paradise cut down to put up a parking lot?

Rosemarie Oldale, Surrey