Dear Editor:
Re: Sears reveals big plans for its Metrotown site, Burnaby NOW, June 5.
It's getting to the point where I am afraid to pick up the Burnaby NOW from my doorstep. Last Wednesday's edition had a blaring headline - Sears reveals big plans for its Metrotown site - with plans for five mixed use, high density residential towers on its site.
Doesn't anyone care whether the residents of Burnaby want these out-of-control developments?
Real Estate Weekly touts the Solo Brentwood monolith on its front page, ". North Burnaby is rapidly transitioning from a sleepy suburb into a thriving metropolis with bustling town centre" with the addition of its 55-storey tower.
These developments try to sell themselves with a "one-year membership to car share" or "public art, seating areas and special paving" as if these make up for the nightmares of more cars on our roads and thousands more residents vying for the same space.
Does anyone remember the original plans for Metrotown, which had a water park on the corner of Kingsway and Nelson Avenue? That never happened. My village originally planned to have a school on site but the moment we bought our home 40 years ago, that plan was shelved. It seems developers can justify turning Burnaby into a concrete jungle by promising the moon and never delivering anything of substantial value to the community.
I try to avoid Metrotown at all costs and instead shop at smaller stores and Brentwood Town Centre. What I love about Brentwood - easy access, free parking, smaller crowds - will be lost in the near future. Our current mayor and council seem to have no regard for the fact that we live in Burnaby because we like the way it is.
I am not opposed to reasonable development but it seems out of control with suggestions that the highest tower in the Lower Mainland - 70 storeys - is what Burnaby wants.
In all of this seemingly endless construction, where is the infrastructure to support tens of thousands of new residents? Where is the money coming from to support more policing, emergency support and increased traffic on our roads? Don't even try to enrol in any programs - you'll just end up on a waiting list - and what about schools?
My property taxes skyrocketed this year and presumably this will continue with no visible benefit to me. I think long-term residents should be asked what they want Burnaby to look like before it's too late.
Like many of my neighbours who have lived in and loved Burnaby for 40 years, I am seriously considering leaving and I certainly will make my feelings clear in the next municipal election if I am still around.
Rosemary Gander, Burnaby
