Stuart Mackinnon: Better parks, together

by Stuart Mackinnon on Oct 6, 2014 at 2:28 pm Straight.com

Stuart Mackinnon is a Green candidate for the Vancouver park board.

 
Vancouver parks and recreation facilities have been neglected and need to be made a priority again. Fields, gardens, natural spaces, and community centres are deteriorating and yet little or no money is being spent for their care and upkeep. It doesn’t have to be this way. Vancouver can be a beautiful, vital, and active city again if the priorities of the park board are focused on parks and recreation.

People and community groups have been marginalized over the past six years. Citizens feel left out and disrespected. It’s time for change. Change includes putting community centres back where they belong—at the centre of our neighbourhoods—by giving them the independence to make planning decisions that reflect community needs and values. Change means listening to people, not belittling them. We need to clearly define decision-making processes and roles to better include the community.

We need to find new ways to engage the citizenry to make consultation more open and meaningful.
Vancouver is changing and the park board has to change, too. Since parks have become the backyards for many people, they should be maintained to enhance and enliven everyone’s urban experience with flower gardens, playing fields, and natural spaces.

The Green Party of Vancouver has a plan to make better parks and recreation for Vancouver. This plan includes working with the citizens of Vancouver. When the park board works with the community, our neighbourhoods become more livable. When the city works with the park board, Vancouver becomes a better place to live.

Working with Green city councillors, park board commissioners and school trustees we can build a better Vancouver, together. On November 15 vote for a better city. Vote Green first.

Stuart Mackinnon is a Green Party of Vancouver candidate for the park board. Mackinnon is active in parks and green space issues, with a focus on access, preservation, and conservation. Having attended park board meetings for years even before being elected to the board, Mackinnon has been a strong, consistent advocate for maintaining Vancouver’s parks and green spaces in pristine condition.