City should have bought golf course

Re: “Loss of links calls for care,” Editorial, April 14.

For most Calgarians, redevelopment of the Hamptons Golf Course means nothing. Rezoning Harvest Hills was another story.

In 1980, Calgary had six municipal golf courses and a population of about 600,000. Today, we have the same six courses and a population of 1.2 million.

Golf is a growing sport. Ask Crossfield, which had 1,000 kids in the junior program last year.

The municipal development plan has a section espousing health, fitness and recreation. Why didn’t Calgary buy Harvest Hills and operate it as a profitable business, which I believe it was? Hundreds of Calgarians used the golf course for both recreation and social reasons.

Meanwhile, we are repairing the Harvie Passage — for who? Twenty or 30 kayakers? The most I ever saw on it was six, and I walked that route regularly. Don’t tell me about safety. The boom and giant notices should be adequate for all but fools.

We need a major change in council, with a focus on candidates who want to represent the citizenry. Getting better deployment of snowremoval equipment would be a good start.

This council can spend its time telling people how to park in cul-de-sacs and renaming bridges, while real issues are going over their heads. Alan Stewart, Calgary