West Vancouver should be one of the best places in Canada to raise a family. We have incredible schools, beaches, parks, mountains and neighbourhoods. But when it comes to something as basic as places for young families to meet each other and spaces for kids to play, we have fallen behind.

I grew up in West Van and moved back here with my own young family after living in Edgemont Village. It wasn't until I came back that I realized how much I had taken for granted.

In North Vancouver, we walked to playgrounds constantly. Some were great destination parks and others were tiny neighbourhood spaces I couldn't even name. The small ones were just as important. We would walk over with our kids, see the same families again and again, the kids would become friends, we'd make plans to meet another day and suddenly we knew the people who lived around us.

Community was built.

When we moved to West Vancouver, I went looking for the same thing and couldn't find it.

According to District Council materials, West Vancouver maintains 22 municipal playgrounds. Where are they?

Seriously. I have looked.

The District website can tell me where to find tennis courts, pickleball courts, sports fields and seemingly every other recreational amenity, but there is no useful playground map or list showing families where these 22 playgrounds are, what ages they serve, what condition they are in or when they are scheduled to be replaced.

We have important destination parks like John Lawson and Ambleside, but they cannot be the answer for an entire municipality. They already serve competing uses, including the seawall, beaches, events and local businesses. They are also fundamentally different from being able to walk a few blocks from home and naturally meet the families who live around you.

West Vancouver deserves fantastic destination playgrounds that kids of all ages are excited to visit, including older kids. Our aging playgrounds need to be replaced. And importantly, there needs to be a strategic plan for small neighbourhood playgrounds woven throughout our community so families can walk from home and actually get to know one another.

Other municipalities seem to understand that these things can happen at the same time. North Vancouver continues to invest in major recreation infrastructure while also building and renewing neighbourhood parks and playgrounds. We see the same thing when we visit Squamish and Whistler. New playgrounds and family spaces seem to be appearing everywhere.

You might be thinking: what about the schools? Those have clearly been an important part of West Vancouver's answer to neighbourhood play. But in December 2025, Council rescinded the policy that allowed the District to contribute toward playgrounds on School District property. The contribution was modest, capped at 33% of a project and a maximum of $35,000. The District has now stepped away from funding those spaces without any clear corresponding investment in neighbourhood play elsewhere.

We are asking the District of West Vancouver, and those seeking election to Mayor and Council this fall, to commit to a real long-term plan for playgrounds and family spaces across West Vancouver.

That means understanding where the gaps are, building new neighbourhood playgrounds where they are needed, investing in great destination playgrounds and spaces for older kids, properly funding replacement of aging infrastructure, and reconsidering partnerships with schools where their playgrounds serve the wider community.

But really, this comes back to a bigger question.

Does West Vancouver want to attract and retain young families?

Families choose where to live based on more than the house. They choose places where their kids will make friends, where they know their neighbours and where it feels easy to be part of the community.

That should matter to everyone. Families help keep schools strong, local businesses busy and neighbourhoods connected.

West Vancouver already has so much going for it. If you agree we should be doing more to make it a place families want to choose, stay and put down roots, please add your name.