I hope Coun. Sylvia Bishop's motion for Delta to explore the possibility of purchasing the remainder of Paterson Park gains some traction with her colleagues.
Bishop, who introduced the idea at last week's Delta council meeting, rightly pointed out that the piece of property at the entrance to Ladner is significant both in terms of the community's history and landscape.
The harness race track that used to operate at the site dates back more than a century, to a time shortly after the municipality's incorporation, and it's the reason why the sports teams at the town's only high school are called the Pacers.
Paterson Park was a big part of early Ladner, not only for the horsemen that raced their charges around the oval track but also as a focal point for the town as a whole. It became synonymous with this area and its economic impacts can't be understated.
The construction of Highway 17 marked the beginning of the end as the new route to the ferry terminal cut off the track from its parking lot and eventually paved the way for the horses to relocate to what is now Fraser Downs in Cloverdale. Paterson Park, which was still used for training purposes for many years after the track shut its doors in the 1960s, has sat dormant in more recent times, now frequented primarily by joggers and dog walkers.
Its historical significance, its location at the busiest intersection in town and its proximity to the civic precinct make it an obvious candidate to be in public hands. The fact Delta already owns the western portion of the property only strengthens the argument to acquire the remainder from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, which at one time was looking to build a campus there but has recently decided to divest itself of the parcel it bought two decades ago.
Delta might not have the money on hand, and it most definitely doesn't have a plan to develop the site, but those obstacles shouldn't cloud the fact that the window to acquire the property will only stay open for so long. You can be sure that if Delta doesn't buy it, someone else will.
A golden opportunity exists to not only preserve a piece of this community's history but to pay homage to it through redevelopment of the site. Should Delta buy it, I suspect the Paterson name would live on, whether it's attached to sports fields, a cultural centre or another public amenity.
That's a far better prospect than a strip mall with a horseshoe on its sign.
