(Editor’s note: This letter is in response to a recent land survey for turning a patch of woods at the corner of Lillooet avenue into a parking lot.)
Respected Canadian, Joni Mitchell’s song “Big Yellow Taxi” brings to mind the Village of Harrison Hot Springs’ proposal to turn the area where Lillooet Avenue changes to Rockwell Drive at the foot of Bear Mountain into an overflow parking lot:
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
‘Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
And put them in a tree museum
I can only assume the council is motivated to create this new parking lot as they anticipate losing the one at the corner of Miami River Drive and Hot Springs Road to the proposed new cultural hub.
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It seems that the overflow parking is only full for special days like Sasquatch Days or July 1 fireworks.
We already have Memorial Hall, the art gallery and the village office/works yard. Perhaps they are not shiny-new, but functional enough.
Joni Mitchell aside, the idea of another parking lot is counter-productive to good stewardship especially in this time of climate crisis.
A walk through the area revealed a diverse forest rich in native flora and fauna, plus a lot of survey stakes.
The corner lot stake seemed so placed that not a tree would be left to buffer the well-used pathway!
It is time for even small communities like Harrison to step up and restore our little corner of paradise!
I trust council is working on a climate crisis mitigation policy and will stop focusing on “paving paradise for a parking lot!”
After all, it is the woodlands that make Harrison into such a great place to reside!
-Janne Perrin, Harrison Hot Springs
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