Dear Editor:
I’ve lived in New West for over 24 years, Sapperton for 14 and agree Sapperton Park needed an update. (I’m glad the huge tires were removed; I’ve seen little feet get jammed in between the tires and difficult to get out). The new green space is very nice. More picnic tables would make it more conducive for families to have picnics there.
I spent a lot of time there with my little granddaughter, and she loved the water features – it’s a shame they removed so many only to add fewer/smaller features. The new structure is indeed, impressive and great for kids.
My big complaint is the lack of swings – two for babies and two for older children. How ridiculous is that? The park had more last year, closer to the washrooms, and they should have been left there. It seems to me that this park, as well as Moody Park, is designed explicitly for little ones.
Parks are for everyone: families with little ones, toddlers, children four and up and, yes, older people.
Neither of these parks recognize the largest age group, the four-plus (my granddaughter is almost seven and misses swings for her age group). Her school is close to Moody Park, and yet she won’t go there anymore.
There may have been “consultation” with children from McBride elementary, but that seems infantile/naive to rely on their input for a $650,000 taxpayer-funded upgrade.
Janet Nault, New Westminster
