To the editor:
Re: "Oakridge plan under the microscope," May 31.
One item was hardly mentioned in all the Oakridge articles: The height of the proposed buildings relative to the area. The existing parking lot at the south end of the property is some 89 meters above sea level, according to Google Earth. Queen Elizabeth Park's reservoir and parking lot is about 124 meters. If we add the height of the proposed 45-storey buildings to the parking lot height we get a height of some 227 meters or more than 100 meters higher than Q.E. Park.
To get a better idea of what the building would look like, go to the corner of 41st and Ash and look across the street at the existing six storey office building, then imagine a building next to it over seven times higher. It's completely out of scale and character for the area.
In addition, the shadow of the buildings will cover the houses almost up to West 39th Avenue if you take the sun altitude at noon in early January, which is only about 20 degrees above the horizon. The higher towers on the site, hopefully much less than 45 storeys, should be located nearer the south part of the site so their shadow is mainly over the site.
The proposed mix of activities for the central area of the proposed site sounds like they took every suggestion made for additional facilities then chucked them onto the site.
The developers have stated that the Canada Line can handle the increase in proposed density, but have they taken into account the future development of the former RCMP former headquarters on West 37th Avenue, and the development of the bus property nearby on 41st Avenue?
Bob Martin, Vancouver
