I am thinking about the disquieting NIMBY letters in the Nov. 15 Oak Bay News.
My wife and I just finished our daily walk down Monterey Avenue to McNeil Bay and up St. Patrick Street. Gosh, we passed eleven people, said our “hi’s”, and tolerated the 13 cars that passed quietly by. Contrary to what a letter writer said, it is more than possible to walk our streets in peace. No kids playing street hockey. No noise. Nothing. Oak Bay is charming, but lacks life. “Trees, lawns and gardens” are a very small part of what makes a community livable. People, and plenty of them, make a community vibrant and joyful. Instead of saying “hi” to 11 people, I much prefer to greet a hundred every hour, every day, always.
I am tired of the insular, complacent and condescending attitude of far too many denizens of Oak Bay.
We need to be rubbing a lot more elbows on every street. John Donne’s “No man is an island” remains relevant.
Peter McNab
Oak Bay
