In my opinion, the last thing our downtown beachfront needs is more parkland.
This city is surrounded by parks, be they provincial, regional, ocean, lake or river. Rathtrevor Park, within our city limits, has two kilometres of pristine beachfront barely seven minutes away.
Instead, what this city needs from that cornerstone property is something modern, vibrant and exciting, something that will generate not just a tax-base for our essential services, but also interest, focus and activities for our residents, both young and old.
We’re not going to increase tourism to our city with more natural beauty. Instead, we will have to appeal to people by offering boutiques, brew-pubs, restaurants, events, recreation and services.
We must also recognize that tourism alone can’t be sustainable to a well-balanced and year-round economy, and that most service industry jobs do not provide a living wage for adults or families.
We have to entice new residents, professionals, families and young people, but we can’t do that if we have nothing to offer but a walk in the woods, just steps from downtown.
If we can’t develop a more diverse demographic and economy for our city, there won’t be any workers to keep either the tourism or the elder-care industries chugging along.
We need people and places that will add value to our natural resources, not more empty space for passive wanderings by those with no stake in the economy and long-term future of our city.
Dan LaRocque
Parksville