Dear Editor,
Once again Richmond News’ Best Of Richmond supplement has provided evidence of why the City of Richmond should do its upmost to preserve the heritage character of Steveston Village. Of the 10 people interviewed for the “A moment with …” profiles, six named Steveston as the place they would most likely take out-of-town guests, and Steveston was at the top of the list of the best places to take a selfie.
To allow the village to be progressively re-developed and made over into the kind of generic shopping area that is common all across the Lower Mainland would be a detrimental blow to our city.
Aside from the progressive loss of the sense of history the village provides, why would anyone want to take an out-of-town visitor to a shopping area that looks and feels the same as all of the other generic, characterless shopping areas that are so familiar to us?
As a footnote, another person commented in the same supplement that the old tram line across Richmond should be re-opened. Imagine what the re-establishment of an old-fashioned tram service between Brighouse and Steveston would do for the tourism trade in this city (think of San Francisco and Portland as examples), not to mention providing additional transportation services to the citizens of south Richmond.
Hey, Richmond City Council — Steveston Village, the way it is, provides so many unique and wonderful culinary, shopping and socializing experiences for people. Why allow developers to change it into something ordinary and boring?
Ray Arnold
RICHMOND
