Editor:
I read an article in the NOW about the Willingdon Lands proposal that will see about 5,000 new homes built at Willingdon and Canada Way if it gets approved.
I don’t live near the site so I’m not being a NIMBY about this, but I have some concerns about the size and scope of the project.
My big question is that since nearly all major development is done on Skytrain lines, why is a project this big being located so far away from a SkyTrain station.
The nearest one is at Brentwood, but for people who don’t drive you’d have to walk over Highway 1 and it would take about 20 minutes. Or you can cram onto a bus that will likely be crowded since this route is filled with BCIT students.
It just seems a little too far away from SkyTrain. I worry that people who move into this project would know that and keep their vehicles instead of having total convenience that would make them give up having a car.
That’s the whole point of putting mass housing right on the SkyTrain line.
The Willingdon Lands proposal is interesting, including adding a 450,000-square-foot film studio in the middle of the 40-acre site.
I also like the Indigenous theme of it all, with the story saying the project is envisioned as a “contemporary Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh urban village.”
“This is a real change in process for our people. It’s very important for our members as owners of this property, this land, the history and what we stand for to be established there,” said Musqueam Indian Band member Johnna Sparrow, who serves as an aboriginal relations advisor with Aquilini Development, in the NOW article. “In the time of reconciliation, this truly is something we can reconcile and work forward to build a brighter future.”
I agree with all of the goals, but I have trouble squaring the issues in regards to it being so far away from SkyTrain.
L. Lazarus, Burnaby
