I grew up in a walkable neighbourhood. I lived two blocks away from a primary school annex, three from an elementary school and about 10 from the high school. Getting a ride to school was never on the radar screen, unlike the gong show that exists in front of every school today.

Access to two commercial nodes could easily be achieved by a pleasant walk or bike ride and my little buddies and I were blissfully mobile in those days. We didn't want or need our parents covering our backs. Besides, we knew everyone anyway and there was always somebody's parent looking out for us from their porch or laneway regardless.

We played a game called 6-60, kind of a kick the can, hide and seek team combo thing. We had routes that we would run through the surrounding homes over about a two-block square radius.

On the sly, we would peel through our secret inter-home pathways and hide under our neighbour's backyard trees momentarily until the coast was clear.

Occasionally we would interrupt a backyard get together or a gardener putting the finishing touches on things as dusk approached. A simple finger to the lips from one of us and a whisper of "6-60" would garner the understanding nod and encouraging smile from the owners of the property we were trespassing on.

This is the way it was back then. It was a time when street hockey and other street games and sports were seldom interrupted by cars.

The boom in automobile sales in the late 1960s and early '70s has certainly had an impact on our lives. Suburban areas were all planned to accommodate the automobile. It's time to start thinking about accommodating humans. We are more important.

We are used to seeing and understanding what we perceive as the norm in our socio-economic environment out here in Tsawwassen. If you have been lucky enough to travel to Europe or other areas where fully mature cities and towns have evolved over hundreds of years, you will understand that we live in an immature town. We have not had the luxury of time to achieve what will ultimately be a fully self-contained, functional and sustainable community. This will require disciplined foresight from our planners and governors.

The Tsawwassen Area Plan Committee is gathering input from the citizens of Tsawwassen to assist in its planning exercise. There are certainly many aspects to cover but all of them should point to a vision of the future that addresses not just commercial or housing needs, but social needs as well. We want kids running through our yards and we should want to give the understanding nod and the encouraging smile.

The evolution of Tsawwassen will require thinking that tries to understand our community and how it fits into the larger region 20 to 50 years out, if not longer.

It is a difficult task that needs to be planned for now.