The Editor:
In 2020, Coquitlam city council requested input from my neighbourhood regarding a new community centre to replace the existing building.
The plans showed a paved open space for civic activity toward Laval Square.
Two years later and before the centre is even open, the mayor and city council are rezoning the open area from P-1 Civic Institutional to RM-2 Three-Storey Medium Density Apartment for seniors living.
Despite the overwhelming opposition expressed by this action, only three short letters were presented at the public hearing held on July 25, 2022, although considerably more were written.
It thus became apparent that the agenda was set long before any input was requested.
Opposition to this project does not result from the "nimby" syndrome.
A quick search for all types of seniors living in Coquitlam will show that an inordinate concentration already exist in southwestern Coquitlam.
On July 22, 2022, the Tri-City News reported Coquitlam city council is considering a 20-storey not-for-profit tower of seniors accommodation on Austin Avenue, a location that is one block west of and only a few north of the Laval Square location.
People age everywhere in this city, so why are seniors being extracted from familiar places where they raised families, contributed to their own neighbourhoods and where friends and amenities are known to them?
The cost of land alone is not justification enough for removing older people, transplanting them and then cramming them elsewhere when a healthy community comprises all age groups.
The proposed site for seniors accommodation near Laval Square is not on a bus route and, while not far from existing bus stops, it is uphill and poorly cleared of snow and ice in the winter.
This makes it dangerous for everyone, but impassable for wheelchairs, scooters and those challenged with mobility issues.
In fact, it is often impossible to drive up Laval Street in the winter, so how emergency vehicles will access the proposed building is not clear.
At present, there already exists a great stress for on-street parking around Laval Square and, later this year, when 41 new townhouses will be occupied in the southeastern corner of the square, the traffic and parking situation will be exacerbated.
While there exists a province-wide shortage of family doctors, who will service the needs of so many additional seniors concentrated in such a small area? No clinic is taking new patients and the walk-in locations are very restricted.
The Austin Avenue site proposed for seniors living is served medically and by transit, while the Cartier Avenue/Laval Square site offers neither.
I am a senior and have resided near Laval Square for many years and I have experience of the situation in this area.
In my opinion, this proposal lacks foresight from a senior's perspective and it appears as if mayor and council are not considering the needs of seniors when cramming them all into this area.
- Lindsay Oliver, Coquitlam
