Vehicles make Stanley Park accessible to everyone

Re: Proposal to reduce car traffic in Stanley Park draws ire of drivers

The very first time I was in Stanley Park was in 1986. My Vancouver-born friend, now my husband for 33 years, has proudly spoken of his love of the park, of numerous hours he spent there with his family, of his learning to swim in the pool, of his rugby club.

My Italian mother-in-law of four children was poor, but the park was open to everybody. She and the kids used to walk to the park from their east Vancouver home, picking up day-old cinnamon buns on the way. Later, she bought a second-hand car with all the pennies in her piggy bank, cooked pasta at home, and fed her own kids and neighbours in the park. People kept an unspoken rule to keep her parking spot untouched.

Much later she proposed picnics including grandchildren, each family bringing fried chicken, potato salad or cold beverages. Each member of the family kept a fond memory of the park.

Very near the end of her life, she was almost blind and could walk only slowly due to her back pain. Beautifully groomed, as always, she came in my car and we drove around the park. She was too frail to get out of the car and walk around, but she enjoyed a cup of coffee brewed at the Prospect Point café and recalled many happy days.

At her death, we, as family and friends, bought a bench at Second Beach, where she used to watch her children and grandchildren grow. The park is still open to everybody, poor and rich, sad and happy, Vancouverites and foreigners who want to know Vancouver and Canada. Taking away vehicle entry will bar many people from the access. A 30-km/h speed limit, oneway drive, separate bike and pedestrian lanes — they have all been working. Why would we change now?

Chiyo Buston, Burnaby