Let's Bring Lynn Valley Back To Life!

Every time that I drive by the closed stores at the Safeway end of Lynn Valley Centre I get worried.

In cities and towns all over North America we've seen similar scenes - one business closes, then another, then a third, then a whole nieghbourhood.

Lynn Valley is on the edge of that sort of collapse, with Zellers gone, and an empty library building beside it, and two or three empty spaces at any time inside the Mall.

Now Safeway has been bought by Sobeys, and it's anyone's guess how long it will be before the Eastern owners decide that our seventies supermarket is an underperformer and closes that too.

Already most people in Lynn Valley make two or three trips each week to shop elsewhere - there are simply too many things that aren't available here.  Those trips become habit, and going to the local mall becomes just one thing too much to bother with.

The truth of the matter is that the centre of Lynn Valley is old, tired, and in desperate need of redevelopment.

Right now the District of North Vancouver is part way though a process of consulting with anyone and everyone to get ideas on what direction that development should take.

At the same time there are a group of people who are adamant that any development above four stories is too much, that any new influx of residents are too many, and that anything that significantly alters the existing Lynn Valley Centre is an affront to their ideas of community and culture.

What I've tried to do here is counter the mis-information and fear-mongering that has characterized the anti-development groups.  What I have tried to do is offer facts, links to source materials, and ideas that acknowledge the reality of the commercial development process, while still encouraging everyone to explore the ideas and speak their piece.

I absolutely want informed contributions to add to what's on the site.  I'd love for some meetings to be arranged for people who like the idea of re-inventing and revitalizing Lynn Valley.

And if someone wants to register a domain name, or print pamphlets, that's good too!

Next up for me, when time permits, are some of those automated e-mail forms so that we can also blitz the elected officials.

Barry Rueger
Lynn Valley resident
barry.rueger@gmail.com