Editor, The News:

Did Tim Tyler do his postal rounds with a small pebble in his shoe before he wrote his editorial piece (Ruskin Report, June 12) – or is he always that cranky?

I agree with him, though, that the Albion mall idea is limited in its vision. Why is it so many are drawn to the big box stores, to the same bland shopping malls cluttering the landscape?

We need to be more forward thinking and creative. We need to make Maple Ridge a town that stands out in people’s minds. We need to revitalize the downtown core of Maple Ridge, as so many have suggested.

In its favour, Haney is in the middle of town, it’s already zoned for commercial development and it’s badly in need of a face-lift. Haney Place Mall looks tired and neglected.

There’s no food store for the many seniors who live in and around the downtown. Extra Foods’ protracted strike has forced many of them to ask family and friends for help to get their weekly groceries. It’s the only grocery store in that area.

If we neglect the downtown core it could well fall into disrepair. It may well be a place that only the homeless and fringe groups populate. The beautification of the downtown square will be meaningless and a waste of taxpayers money if no one wants to go there to shop or enjoy cafes and restaurants.

For those of you who remember, Hastings Street in Vancouver was once a vibrant shopping district with Eaton’s, Woodward’s and small shops lining its streets. As stores moved out of the area the down-and-out moved in and the boarded buildings and unhappy street scenes are what remain today.

It has been suggested that we could make our downtown like Port Moody with its pedestrian friendly Newport Village. Or, we could make it a quaint tourist destination like Fort Langley. Or, we could make it something uniquely our own.

Let’s leave the green places green as much as possible and make good use of the downtown centre, which has been neglected for far too long. All that’s required is the will to transform it.

And, who knows, maybe if we build it right, people from Langley will come to Maple Ridge on our shiny new bridge to enjoy our town, rather than the other way around.

Zulis Rouch

Maple Ridge