I’m not an architect or a planner but I am a resident who has had the good fortune to live in my Dunbar neighborhood for almost 25 years. We’ve raised our two boys here and we love the area, but I do not like what I see. I’m not talking about the demolition of older [...]

As you know I did not seek re-election to the park board, instead choosing to take a step back and focus on career and family. On November 19th the voters of Vancouver gave Vision Vancouver a resounding mandate to continue governing for three more years. To the candidates who ran and were not successful, the [...]

On Saturday January 16 I had the pleasure of attending the official ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Mt. Pleasant Centre at 1 Kingsway. What a fabulous facility! The Centre contains a community centre with a state-of-the-art fitness centre, full-size gymnasium , climbing wall and a community kitchen. In addition to a community centre, the facility [...]

By far one of the most rewarding activities as a Park Commissioner is to attend the opening of a new piece of infrastructure and on January 16th the new Mt. Pleasant Community Centre at 1 Kingsway will officially open. This new community centre has been in the works for a long time; in fact the [...]

Over this past weekend I received attendance figures for the Bloedel Conservatory for the month of December.  Guess what?  Attendance has tripled over December 2008 and in fact is the best December since at least 2005.  Attendance for December 2009 was 8,213 compared to 2,571 for 2008. OK, credit the media and the fact that [...]

Plans to permanently close the Conservatory and Children’s Farmyard in Stanley Park were temporarily put on hold Monday night…for at least another four months. The Park Board voted in favour of issuing an RFP (Request For Proposal) from private interest groups to develop plans to keep both facilities open.  Deadline for submission to the Board [...]