Instead of adding to park, city opts for more concrete

Editor: How can one acquiesce to Tourism Kelowna, the mayor and council regarding the construction of the pedestrian tourist centre on the waterfront when they put forward such lame opinions in support of their decision?

Mayor Colin Basran, council and Tourism Kelowna’s mantra of “we need to go where the pedestrians are” invariably meant the Queensway parking lot.

There was never a mention of a possible Bernard Avenue site (except from the public and a tourism expert), where we taxpayers and local business have just spent $14 million upgrading sidewalks, lighting, parking, etc.

In fact the spin coming from the city when that work began in 2012 was “to help rejuvenate downtown and set the stage for more activity, attracting residents and visitors alike’’ and “stimulate tourism.”

We know there are more pedestrians on lower Bernard Avenue, yet it was deemed inadequate.

Coun. Tracy Gray said the Queensway Jetty, where the visitor information centre will be built, has been a parking lot for 30 years, so this building is a major improvement, while Coun. Mohini Singh said the city is actually giving back the waterfront to everyone.

The property remained a parking lot because this and previous councils must have felt the spaces were needed.

Now that it is deemed redundant, Basran and council had a choice between a beautiful landscaped completion of Stuart Park, or a huge, two-storey building surrounded by concrete.

Mayor and council were pleasantly surprised to hear that the building will contain five public toilets. They cover 1,000 square feet (36 per cent of the floor space), at a prorated cost of $1 million.

A Tourism San Francisco executive I contacted wondered how Tourism Kelowna could possibly need 3,000 square feet. Well now we know, 50 per cent will be toilets and retail.

Don Henderson, Kelowna