The last two weeks on the North Shore have made many question the validity living in this location. Trying to accommodate an appointment to show the most expensive real estate in Canada is almost impossible.
14 years ago when we moved to West Vancouver the infrastructure appeared to be adequate to support the population. Of course the bridge was still a pain but you just had to pick your time. Now our population has exploded, new construction is through the roof and the approval for new/bigger commercial & residential projects are off the charts. Just look up the mountain as your come across the bridge to the North Shore, the clear cutting is evident. Imagine a multifamily project at Park Royal, a multifamily project on the corner of Cap Road and Marine + all the other projects proposed for Mount Seymour Parkway/Lynn Valley/Horseshoe Bay/Squamish/Britannia Beach…and the list goes on. Yet our access on and off the North Shore remains the same.
We either have to pull up the bridge and say closed for business, or blow the dust off the plans which have sat on the Mayors desk since 1960 to improve access to the North Shore.
Each building approval has to have an improvement levy attached to it dedicated to ‘infrastructure’ improvement. This applies to renovations, new builds…everything. Not only that, when someone decides to build in an area, the rule is that the developer is then responsible to return the surrounding area to its pre-construction state. This is definitely not happening. Roads are torn to pieces and the landscaping is wrecked.
Do not get me wrong, I am a total fan of progress. Sitting in traffic for two hours to travel 11k is not progress. I am writing this sitting at Park Royal, I abandoned my 6.30 p.m. showing in North Vancouver and have now just cancelled my 7.45 p.m. showing downtown!