Seaside Greenway a ‘waste of money’: critics
Posted September 9, 2017 6:56 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The City of Vancouver is celebrating the completion of a major cycling and walking route, but not everyone is joining in the celebrations.
A group of Vancouverites is speaking out against the City, saying the money spent on the Seaside Greenway project was a waste and should’ve been used for a more important cause.
According to the City, the stretch of Point Grey between Macdonald St and Jericho Beach was the most difficult for someone using the seawall system.
They’ve widened the side walk, added a bike lane and removed traffic where they could, in an effort to make the roadway safe and more enjoyable for Vancouverites.
But Fiona Brodie who’s protesting with “Wake Up Vancouver” and says this project is a posterchild for waste.
“The City has spent an inordinate amount of money on a road that runs along the richest postal code in the country, while we feel there are many other under-funded priorities in the city, and we all know what they are, and the top of that list is homelessness.”
She estimates the price tag to be about $12 million.
“Using a $12.4 million number, I can’t imagine how many beds that would have made for street youth, for example.”
She believes closing the road to traffic was the wrong way to deal with safety concerns, and adds there are still a number of factors making the route unsafe.
“And the driveways they’ve created are unsafe for the very pedestrians they’ve suggested are on improved walkways.”
According to the City, the road work itself only cost about $5 million, and the work was done along with sewer upgrades.
It says extensive consultation has been done, and concerns have been addressed.
