City of North Vancouver council has had smashing success in making Lower Lonsdale a vibrant, walkable and pleasant place to be. Now they’re hoping to replicate that success in Central Lonsdale.
After much talk in council chambers, the city is now seeking the public’s input on their project to make the Lonsdale Avenue corridor between Highway 1 and Victoria Park a “great street,” for locals or visitors alike.
But CeLo isn’t LoLo, if you’ll forgive the vernacular. Where one is a waterfront destination, the other is a central business district, a hub for white collar jobs and health care. It will take some imagination.
For some, we’re sure making Lonsdale great again probably means nothing more than ripping out the street-side patios that have been added in since 2020 and restoring the old lanes of traffic and parking. We want to manage your expectations. That’s probably not where this is going.
Mayor Linda Buchanan has paraphrased the urbanist thinker Jane Jacobs many times: Cities are for people, not for cars. And there are many thousands of people living within a short walk, cycle or transit trip of Lonsdale who deserve to get the most of their neighbourhood.
But it’s also clear that changes to the streetscape have been made largely in an ad-hoc manner without any cohesive strategy. The great street project should address that.
We encourage city residents, visitors and workers to get involved, to bring an open mind, some creativity and a willingness to see potential. We remember how some folks scoffed when council debuted plans for the Shipyards a decade ago and today, the area is the envy of Metro Vancouver.
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
