It was such a beautiful weekend in New Westminster. I had a couple of events downtown on Saturday, and enjoyed my time wandering around between them, and something occurred to me.
The Northwest Fan Fest was occurring at the Anvil Centre. There were something like 10,000 people drawn to downtown New West on the weekend, spilling out onto the street, filling the sidewalks and Hyack Square – geeking out and having fun.
And they spilled over to Pier Park, to mix with the usual families and locals using what is coming to be seen as one of the great public spaces in the lower mainland.
Yet this is the weekend when a full half of the Parkade was closed to start the repairs, which will eventually see the west side removed. Parking chaos? Hardly.
And I was reminded why I ran for Council. This City is on such a positive path. We are moving forward, setting plans and reaching for a better future. There are bumps along the way, some tough decisions to make, and some difficult setting of priorities.
But during the last election, not 6 months ago, there were people running who thought this was a waste of money that no-one would ever use:
Yet this was a valuable resource we cannot possibly afford to be without:
I am happy to say I spent 10 hours in Council meetings today with people who see a more positive vision for the City, and we are moving ahead.
The Pier Park is fantastic. Now you just need a Farmer’s Market in that wasteland between the FR Discovery Center and the park.
That wasteland is going to become a condo complex. It wouldn’t make sense to move the market there only to have to move it back. It would make a great site for it tho.
The downtown is on its way to becoming a must destination. Pier Park is a very busy hub and fabulously innovative. The waterfront is so very nice, people stopping, visiting on the boardwalk, cyclists, strollers all together in a beautiful dance!