We don’t want to be Vancouver

Dear editor: Growing up in Kelowna in the 1960s and 70s, I would never have dreamed that Kelowna would have grown to this size let alone approve highrise buildings downtown, which obstruct our beautiful skyline and create more traffic congestion.

Now, this council, like ones before them, is going to subject us to an array of highrise building as we slowly become a mini Vancouver.

Growing up in Okanagan Mission, we were surrounded by orchards and fields and gradually the beauty of the Mission and other areas gave way to urban sprawl. Instead of building on the hillsides as was done later, orchards and farms were replaced with subdivisions. If it was not for the Agricultural Land Reserve, we would have fewer orchards and farms than we do now. There something called “controlled and organized growth” and for many years this never happened. Now we are faced with condos downtown and presumably in the Capri area, if that project is approved.

With these unruly highrises, where will these cars go on our already overly congested streets and highways? Live, work and play downtown is a catchy and idealistic slogan, but do we really believe that those many cars parked at the highrises will stay there and the owners will walk and bike everywhere? What about the trips to mall, the golf course and the ski hill, etc? Is this council’s idea of how to reduce traffic?

This council and future ones need to look at other options for housing, which would not include highrises, but will offer affordable options to buy and rent. It appears that the developers come up with the plan and council goes ahead with making it happen, even if many residents do not agree with it.

I will vote for candidates who support controlled growth, not highrises and increasing traffic congestion. I hope that these candidates exist. Tim Bayliss Kelowna