Saanich’s aging infrastructure exerts profound pressure on the budget of our expanding municipality.
I am generally in agreement with the choices made by council regarding investment in our infrastructure, despite the inevitable hardships this can create for individual property owners.
I am confounded, however, that council chose to defer park acquisition. Saanich strikes me as seriously under-resourced in its green spaces. Saving $300,000 now is short-sighted when the pressure on our parks increases with our growing population, and our needs as a city require a variety of parks and natural spots for us all to enjoy in the many different ways that we do – from sports to trail walking to family picnics and walking our dogs.
That the People, Pets, and Parks strategy remains in place with a huge budget is all the more concerning. Why focus on punishment and restrictions when park acquisition is the solution? Council’s poor priority setting blocks the creation of new parks wherein people are free to do all the things they want to do: saunter down with children and dogs to have fun together or walk their dogs around the clock and allow them to play. This is a serious imbalance, and one that will continue to increase pressure on our green spaces.
Susan Hamilton
Saanich
