Editor, The News:
Re: ‘Albion could support a big-box mall’ (The News, March 16)).
I read articles weekly discussing the development of the Albion flats.
I think the real question here is whether or not we want to decimate our downtown in Maple Ridge.
All you have to do is look at almost every mid-size city in Canada or the U.S. and see that if you develop malls and large-scale shopping outside the downtown core, you will irreversibly damage it and throw it into decline.
You can talk about ALR all day long, but the real question is do you want to maintain or grow the downtown or crush it?
On a separate note, I would like to know the cost of the Maple Ridge sign on Lougheed and 105th Avenue.
If the Albion flats takes as long to develop as it takes to erect a hardly visible sign, designating a sports complex, I don’t believe those against need to be concerned.
Chris Black
Maple Ridge
