Editor:
Re: Walking streets a danger, senior says, July 18.
It is laughable to say that this construction was about fixing the unsafe sidewalks.
This is about greed, and having White Rock residents pay for that greed.
The sidewalks were safe before the construction.
I am sure that the final result will be beautiful, but safety should come first.
If this was about safety, why did the city choose to rip up both sides of Johnston at once? This appears to be more about rushing to get the development done before this council is voted out on Oct. 20.
If this was only about safety, then there was only about 30 feet of unsafe sidewalk on east side of Johnston that needed repair. That could have been fixed at a fraction of the cost, while also keeping seniors safe.
Looking at the work being done, this is more about building capacity for the new towers that the majority of residents opposed.
I have been told that this project is costing taxpayers $9 million but the developers are only paying $500k per tower. In order to pay for it, we would need 18 towers along this three-block stretch of Johnston to break even on costs.
The first block is costing taxpayers $3 million, so with three towers being planned there, developers are only paying half. Taxpayers are paying the other $1.5 million so that rich developers can get richer on our dime. That’s not right.
Mayor Wayne Baldwin’s response to Ms. Egger? “I will send a message to staff about dealing with it ASAP.” Baldwin then goes on to blame other councils for this mess, even through he was CAO at the time.
That’s not good enough. Good management accepts responsibility and would have planned for safe development from the start.
This council is to blame, and this mayor and his council must take responsibility for it.
Scott Kristjanson, White Rock
