The Editor
Re. "Paying to park at Rocky Point will cost parents, biz" (Letters, The Tri-City News, July 16).
Is a name change required? Should we now be called the Dual-Cities plus Port Moody? Will your newspaper now be The Dual-City News?
Apparently, Port Moody's leadership thinks so. Parking free for Port Moody residents only while all others pay for the privilege of using Rocky Point Park? What's next?
Will visiting soccer and hockey teams be required to pay to play games at PoMo fields and rinks, to use the changing rooms?
Will Guildford Way become a toll road for its few Port Moody blocks?
Will parking for the Port Moody rec centre and library be the next target? After all, there will be an Evergreen Line station only blocks away.
Maybe Rocky Point is just the first slip on a very slippery slope.
I'm sure our good neighbours in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam will realize that this step is not the will of the people of our city. We want your business. We want to be part of the Tri-Cities. We appreciate your generosity in allowing us to use your parks and amenities.
Please, don't give up on us. Maybe we can change things - if more than a couple of hundred of us come out to vote on election day
George Elgstrand,
Port Moody
A SMALL PRICE
The Editor,
After reading letters opposed to pay parking at Rocky Point Park in Port Moody, it baffles me that some users are complaining about the park not being free. I'd like to point out that there are no admission gates. Fees to be charged are for the privilege of parking only.
The old ParticipAC-TION program urged us to "Run, walk or bike." The cost of doing this to access the park remains $0. There are also transit stops nearby. If you still choose to bring your car, a nominal fee of $1 per hour is hardly onerous and the funds could go to beautification projects.
This is not unprecedented as there is paid parking in Stanley Park, at Burnaby's Deer Lake and other parks in the Lower Mainland.
As for affecting business, it seems unlikely that anyone spending upwards of $100 of more per couple to dine at the Boathouse would be deterred by $1 or $2 for parking.
The maintenance of Rocky Point is funded by the taxpayers of Port Moody. This does not change. No one likes tolls or parking charges but they can help reduce unnecessary traffic and pay for park improvements.
M. Turner, Port Moody
'MEAN-SPIRITED'
The Editor,
A letter to Port Moody Mayor Mike Clay:
Please reconsider reinstating curbside glass recycling for Port Moody and also cancel the pay parking trial at Rocky Point Park.
Many people who cannot afford vehicles or do not have ability to carry bags of glass to recycling depot will be depositing glass back in the garbage that will be adding to our already large landfills. This decision is shortsighted and bad for the environment. Not collecting glass for recycling is backward. Coquitlam has separate containers for glass and we should, too.
As for paying for parking at Rocky Point, this is mean-spirited and unfair for the many people who live outside Port Moody who also enjoy this beautiful gem of a park. It is also unfortunate for those who seek out free recreation, and adding cost of parking impacts these families directly.
An easier solution would be to monitor the amount of time that people park and make sure they are staying within a four-hour limit. Adding parking meters and having towing companies involved is not a positive or productive way to solve this issue.
Maria Pichichero,
Port Moody
