FVC Perspectives: April

Families in denser cities need more parks .

The Fraser Valley’s population has grown rapidly over the last decade. Few communities are expecting any slowdown, and many new families will live in homes with limited or no backyards. But the supply of parks across the region has broadly—and with a few exceptions—not reflected recent growth.

In our first call-out for our new FVC Perspectives series, we asked you what amenities people in townhomes and apartments needed more of. And you suggested that parks and recreational were most needed.

We also gave you the opportunity to provide feedback or commentary on any topic of your choosing. We had one qualifying submission and have included it in our story.

If you’d like to submit your own letter or commentary, you can do so via this form here. Please take note of our guidelines. Our next FVC Perspectives will come out in May. Watch for a new poll at the start of the month.

Poll results

We asked: “More families are expected to raise kids in townhomes or apartments. What do our communities need to make that easier?”

You replied:

34%: More parks

32%: More recreational facilities

23% Better transportation infrastructure

12% Other

Your comments

Note: We wanted only to include comments from those who provided our full name, but the method we collected responses didn’t quite allow for that. Either that or it wasn’t clear. So we’ve included first names below, when possible. Otherwise, we’ve allowed people to comment anonymously. We don’t want to do so in the future and will refine our process in future months.

We had so many responses we haven’t been able to include everyone’s comment. When there were multiple submissions very similar to one another, we’ve only chosen one (often that with the most detail). But thanks to anyone who wrote in and offered their perspective.

Holly: “Small parks/green spaces near apartment and condominium developments are a must to create a sense of community. Also, more small shops & amenities within close walking distance. That is how people get to know their neighbours which I believe creates safer neighbourhoods with people watching out for each other.”

Kate: “Children and adults need outdoor space for recreation and relaxation as well for mental health and a sense of well being. I would add that these parks should include nature trails ... places where people can walk and enjoy the beauty of the natural world and get in a little forest bathing .... and perhaps catch sight of some of the creatures who also call earth their home.”

Kathie: “Gas is expensive, parking is getting more and more scarce. European style transit is amazingly efficient and easy to use. You don't need a car there. Better transit options would make getting around with children much easier without the need for more cars.”

Ken: “Children need clean fresh air to run around freely and both sports facilities and parks would be essential for families and children living in apartments.”

DH: “There needs to either be mandatory playgrounds attached to the new builds or small neighborhood parks nearby. I believe kids need to be able to develop small groups of friends and often the school yard is massive in the eyes of a 5 year old, especially if they have not created a small nucleus of friends earlier.”

Lou: “Activities to keep children of all ages active. Ones that are not expensive to join. Use school gyms open after school hours with some constructive games that improve abilities not just physical but mentally challenging to keep them interested so they want to belong and participate. Something for everyone. It would need adults to volunteer to supervise. ”

Langers: “The world population is unsustainable. We should not be contributing to the problem by continuously increasing our population. Without immigration, our population would be decreasing. The answer is to limit population growth to zero. Then, housing will no longer be an issue, and we will not be continually increasing our negative environmental footprint.”

Anon: “Recreational facilities should be freely available to all community members and transportation needs to be cheap and efficient. There should be outdoor playgrounds available to all children. All parks should be maintained by the city to ensure safety and quality.”

Anon: “Too many kids can’t get into extracurricular activities because of the lack of space or instructors. Waiting lists for soccer, hockey, gymnastics e.g. How can a municipality offer more when there is less. Use some of those tax dollars to make extra curricular activities for everyone!”

Anon: “Repurpose and increase size of community spaces. Since many units don’t offer den spaces, maybe make those flexible work pods available in community spaces. Add workshop or art facilities to spaces. Make lower rent day-care ready facilities part of the building. Basically extend the home space outside of the compact home condo/apartment so that not only groups but individuals can make use of community shared spaces.”

Trudy: “All the above, and make the amenities, transportation, affordable to low income families.”

Brett: “We don't need that stupid slow milk run train that guy from the interurban railway group wants to resurrect. We need a fast efficient link from downtown to downtown bus depots. Skytrain for the win.”

Eryne: “Daycares and preschools.”

Letter of the month

We’re also now taking your submissions on other topics of relevance to readers and hoping to share your insight. You can make a submission here. (Make it special. We’re going to generally avoid publishing the same people again and again.)

Frequent FVC collaborator Aaron Pete has written an op-ed piece on accountability for First Nations governments. You can find it here.

Today’s letter comes from Mission resident Rocky Blondin.

Rocky writes: