Scrap Station Street Park project
Dear Duncan mayor and council:
We are glad Station Street’s unnecessary park project has been delayed due to overpriced bids. In fact, council should simply scrap this imprudent park upgrade altogether.
Details appeared on the Cowichan Citizen’s website April 23, 2024.
We now urge council to return our $1 million park upgrade grant to the provincial government. Further, we advise councillors to redirect city taxpayers’ $200,000 — earmarked for this misguided park project — toward other crucial needs in Duncan.
We suggest council gather more public ideas about how best to help our unique downtown reach its big potential.
Maybe that city-park money can fund night-time security guards to protect against growing, costly vandalism.
Or perhaps the purse can better manage and clean our reportedly foul public washrooms on Canada Avenue, beside the train station — rather than building more toilets a block away near the park.
Again, we request council apply ideas in its Plan Of Action 2000 to thriftily rejuvenate our struggling core — and help boost traffic for our great downtown merchants and businesses.
Yours in smart growth,
Peter W. Rusland
North Cowichan