Editor: I totally agree with the comments made by Carol Armstrong about the minimum number of parking spaces for multi-family units (the Times, Jan. 25).
This applies not only in the City of Langley, but in the Township of Langley and in the City of Surrey as well. I understand that local governments wish to encourage residents to use transit and feel that by limiting the number of parking spaces in developments, it will limit the number of vehicles.
Unfortunately, in the short term, this is a wrong approach.
The young families who can afford to purchase townhouses in particular, will have children who will ultimately grow into teenagers who will need to get to schools, part-time jobs and, ultimately post-secondary facilities or full-time employment.
When this happens, the two-car family will grow into a three- or four-car family — with no place to park.
The changeover from cars to public transit will not happen here within a single generation. In the interim, the streets are plugged with second family vehicles and heaven forbid these families wish to have company as there is nowhere for their visitors to park.
A friend of mine visited a relative in Willoughby at Christmas and had to park, with his two-year-old child in tow, four blocks away from his destination. This is an absolutely ridiculous situation.
Developers want to maximize the number of units for profit, and unfortunately, our local governments are allowing this to happen with disastrous results vis-a-vis the parking situation.
Valerie Caskey,
Langley
