Mount Pleasant

I spent some time in Mount Pleasant today, and it is easy to see why people are so attached to this neighbourhood. Main Street is full of independent shops, restaurants, music, art and older buildings that give the area a character of its own.

Mount Pleasant is also under a lot of pressure. Broadway construction has been hard on local businesses, while new development is changing the neighbourhood quickly. My platform calls for the City to work with businesses and residents before major construction begins, not after the disruption has already started, and to protect the storefronts and local character that make these streets worth visiting in the first place.

The same goes for arts and culture. Vancouver has lost an enormous amount of affordable studio and cultural space, and Mount Pleasant is one of the places where that loss is especially noticeable. I want the City to keep track of what is disappearing, make better use of City-owned buildings for affordable artist-run space, and hire local artists for public spaces wherever it can.

And as more people move into the area, the roads, sidewalks, parks and community facilities have to keep up. Building more housing while neglecting the infrastructure around it is not a plan.

Mount Pleasant can grow, but it should still feel like Mount Pleasant when the construction is finished. That means listening to the people and businesses already here, and making sure they have a real say in what comes next.