Editor:
I'm writing to offer a little bit of positivity to balance so many of the negative letters to the editor I've read in the past few weeks about the current state of New West.
I moved to New Westminster 10 years ago, but before that it was a regular hangout for me and my college friends if we wanted to hit a bar or a diner after class. I remember what the city was like then, about 15 years ago now.
When I hear people claim that the city is worse than ever, I wonder when they're comparing it to. Because while I have always loved New West, it's hard not to acknowledge that, in the mid-00s, it left a group of young, college-aged women feeling a lot less secure than it would now.
The River Market is more beautiful than ever (particularly compared to when I first saw it in the 90s, as a kid new to Canada, when it felt like a rusted, out-of-use amsuement park) and the Quayside walk wasn't nearly as lovely then as it is now.
Of course, there are many obvious downsides to gentrification — including, as so many of us have experienced, the often unlivable hikes in rental costs.
But the New West of today is one I'm very happy to raise my child (and any future children) in. I think there are a small but vocal number of people that need to accept that car travel is probably not going to be the default mode of transportation going forward. Which is why I'm also proud of New West's strides to make walking, biking, e-biking and transit much more accessible.
In short: I think New West is the best it's been in the nearly 30 years I've seen it. Change can be hard, but it's worth looking around and being honest about the state of things, rather than devolving into hyperbole and NIMBY-style rhetoric.
Sarah Arboleda
📢 SOUND OFF: How do you feel? What do you think about the New Westminster of today? Have you seen positive changes in your time in the city? Share your thoughts — send us a letter.
