Re: "Paving paradise and putting up a seawall," July 20.
I must side with Allen Garr that to preserve the Point Grey foreshore in as close to its natural state as it now exists is better than to extend the seawall.
Nature is mucky, smelly, blocks views, and drips sap on cars, and will someone please stifle those raucous Sunday morning crows and seagulls. Infirm as I am, bonkers and creaky, with thanks to our dear, dear Supreme Court for granting me the option to bring myself off with help from a professional rather than a batched amateur attempt, I would still prefer a hazardous access to wild foreshore. But I may be in the minority. What floats Vancouverites boat is the seawall.
So let's accept the generous donor's gift with heartfelt thanks, and get on with it, learning lessons from the seawall so far:
1. Separate the skateboarders and bicyclists et al from us walkers with a median.
2. Provide safety crossings against wheeled collisions with crosswalk lights.
3. Develop strategies to pay for maintenance, e.g. tolls and vehicular access for it.
3. With Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»population exploding it will soon be necessary to twin the entire seawall àla Port Mann Bridge.
4. Expropriate those Point Grey Road beachfront houses. They will never be cheaper, unless the inevitable bitumen oil spill from increased tanker traffic in Georgia Straight diminishes the appeal of waterfront living.
5. Rename the seawall after a corporate sponsor.
Or, let's call the whole thing off! Roger Henning, Vancouver
