Editor:
Regarding the four floors of underground parking for the proposed 27-storey complex at Royal Place, that’s an enormous hole in the ground to be excavated, involving soil, dump trucks and constant drilling.
I presume they will hit bedrock. Also, ancient artifacts could be disturbed that deep.
Give the neighbours a break.
We have lived with all of the above since 2015. It is detrimental to our health and well-being.
Another hospital will be needed, along with traffic police to oversee the volumes of vehicles exiting from the proposed underground parking ramp onto already-chaotic George Street.
And let’s not forget the highrise under construction next door.
Ann Wallis, White Rock
• • •
An open letter to the City of White Rock.
I read on the city website construction workers have been assigned parking areas near the many projects underway.
I endured the issues with my neighbours on Blackwood, Vidal and area during the Beverley project construction. Parking was but one.
I observed last week – as visitors drove around and around the block to shop and meet friends for lunch – some people just do not park properly. I observed cumulative parking issues on George, Johnston, Foster, Martin, Russell and Thrift streets.
I expect merchants and other residents have expressed concern as well. With the half-block now marked for buses – perhaps overly generous space – I expect that dashing into the bank some people have received parking tickets.
I believe the developers and city need to:
• Paint the remaining public parking stall lengths, to stop silly half-car-length gaps between vehicles.
• Apply research from other communities. Metro Vancouver’s engineers and fire chiefs say the answer to creating additional on-street parking spots is hiding in plain sight: By cutting the no-parking clearance around hydrants in half, there would be room for more cars on streets.
• Ensure landlords and stratas with underground parking have the tenant/owner use the stalls and not impose that people pay extra, which is a deterrent. So many tenants stay parked on the street, with plenty of empty stalls in the parkade.
• Residents who require parking at their homes, without a parkade or enough stalls, must be issued resident permits for designated areas.
We will endure many months of frustration, noise, trucks and traffic issues with the construction underway. So nice that you have organized details for the developers, contractors and their workers. Please, we residents and taxpayers want equal attention and care.
Pat Petrala, White Rock