Editor:
I couldn’t help but laugh this morning when I heard some White Rock tourism rep on CBC radio wanting to make White Rock a “world class” tourist destination.
White Rock, the village where the “welcome to” sign looks like a repurposed tombstone, where one has to carry drinking water from Vancouver because the high-lead content in the village supply makes it unfit for consumption, where the main feature of the main street is “Deals World” and blocks of wire mesh fencing, where the fire department runs out of water when a major fire occurs, where the village mayor and council constantly carp about moving the railroad because a couple of people have decided they wanted to move on to the next chapter of life by getting in front of a train, where tourists are driven away by the excessive waterfront parking rates, where parking, excessive taxes and fees are the only source of village revenue to compensate overpaid mayor, council and staff.
World class, my donkey.
Let’s start with becoming part of Surrey and hooking into the Metro Vancouver water supply and getting rid of most of the replicated overpaid, unnecessary politicians and bureaucracy. Then expropriate – if necessary – the Deals World property and create more live/work business opportunities. Use a 100-foot-deep strip from the Johnston Road school yard and create a number of business opportunities with two levels of residences above. Then install a cable car or monorail – paid for by private funds – from Thrift and Johnston to the outer end of the pier that would have a two-level restaurant, galley shop with a large outdoor deck at the terminus.
Visitors and locals could explore uptown and the waterfront with ease.
Fill some of the beach area east of the pier for an event area with a stage that could accommodate 10,000 to 12,000 or so for open-air performances and concerts.
Most all of this could be done with private funding.
Oh yeah – and a new motto: “Come sea our beach and ‘hump!’”
Don MacKay, White Rock
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I have been visiting beautiful White Rock from England for over 30 years and was appalled to read a Vancouver Sun/Province article about the proposed “improvements” for the East Beach seafront.
White Rock’s enduring appeal comes from the very fact it has not been overdeveloped and concreted over like so many other places.
Nature cannot be improved upon, and visitors and walkers alike can feel close to all that it holds. If you want to see concrete walkways and snazzy plazas, go into the city.
Let White Rock breathe and not be forced into a mould that does not fit.
Sarah Devane, Dorset, England
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Thirty million dollars would go a long way on projects that would actually be useful to our city (White Rock revives Spirit Square, Feb. 24).
Maybe they could even come up with funds to re-paint the parking lines on Johnston Road and Pacific Avenue! One has to exit their vehicle to verify whether they are legally parked or not. The lines are all but invisible in most parking places.
We definitely do not need to undertake a project on the backs of the taxpayers to create some kind of legacy to our mayor and his council.
Hopefully, the next civic elections will change things. Or… let’s amalgamate with the City of Surrey. That’s an even better idea, I think.
Gus Nielsen, White Rock