Editor:
I recently had the opportunity to participate in a transportation discussion group focusing on the Southlands development hosted at the little cottage at the Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall. I was invited there by a friend to hear if Southlands really is going to be as walkable a community as its promotion material suggests, or just another car-centric development.
I am particularly interested in this topic as I am one of the founding members of Safe Route Tsawwassen, a community group that formed to make 56th Street a safer place for bikers, pedestrians, transit users and those with mobility and other impairments.
After hearing the Century Group's presentation, I was pleasantly surprised at its commitment to not only make the Southlands a walkable and bikeable community, but that it had gone the extra mile to connect the new Southlands trails to the surrounding neighbourhoods.
While at the meeting, I was shown how separate biking and walking paths would extend from 56th Street to Boundary Bay Regional Park and the community of Boundary Bay.
After looking at all the information and asking many questions, I concluded the Southlands will not only be a pedestrianoriented community with a market square, it will be the safest and most pedestrian and bike-oriented neighbourhood in all of Tsawwassen.
I hope Delta can learn from what is being proposed on the Southlands and will extend that walking and bike network across Tsawwassen.
I would like to thank Century Group for listening to my ideas, answering my questions and including me in its focus group. I would also encourage anyone else interested in making Tsawwassen an even better community to live to stop by the cottage and share your ideas with the staff.
Roland K. Katagi, Ph.D.
