Re: Park cleanup continues with house demo (Gazette, July 22)
With many communities working to create walking corridors and pedestrian friendly downtown areas, Langford continues to remove vital, natural green space, this time in the heart of the downtown core.
Danbrook Park, with magnificent, shading Garry oaks, firs and a wide-open grassy area, is apparently being redesigned into a much-needed off-leash dog park, according to a Langford city council member, with fencing, safety upgrades and park benches to create a dog and family friendly park. A city staff member stated, “We had always planned on making an expansion (of the park).”
With the growing number of residents in the area, it would have served residents well to have the park increased in size, an option that was available with the three adjacent lots owned by the City.
Yet the City recently began removing park land, without any public notice or consultation. It now appears that almost one-quarter of the park has been removed, including a mature Garry oak, in order to expand a proposed parking lot which had originally been planned to be contained within the three vacant lots.
With the tremendous increase in housing within the downtown core, parking should be established for these residences and businesses within their own developments, not displaced to other areas of the city. This devastation of the “hidden park” is yet another misguided idea of what the City of Langford views as balance of park vs. parking, with the scales definitely tipped and parking taking precedence.
The many pedestrians venturing down my street, and a large majority with their dogs, would have welcomed this dog walking destination. I do hope that the community still does utilize this park, otherwise the City will probably then view the park as not being used and this mini-paradise will then “progress” to be under pavement.
Joan Varley
Langford