Editor:
I have often gone to the Ladner Market Days and enjoyed the sights and sounds of a busy market with all the wonderful foods and crafts that are produced in our area.
I often think of the great effort put in by the planners and especially the vendors to make these days happen. The vendors must set up shop and shelter and bring in their wares, starting early in the morning, and it is probably a very long day.
If we are to revitalize Ladner Village, I think it is good to remember the past and think about historical marketplaces.
We have here an opportunity to create a permanent setting for market days. Specialized market buildings are draws, and provide places for permanent businesses (think cafes, coffee shops, butchers, fish shops) as well as transient events (think produce stalls, spot prawn events, crafts, music events, Christmas fairs.
We have our own wonderful Granville Island Market and Lonsdale Quay as examples to draw from. These ideas of community space would fit wonderfully in Ladner, especially with the proximity to water.
Thomas Sinclair
