Dear friends,
In its first week, over 500 of you signed our petition to say “no” to a pool in Mount Pleasant Park.
But, if the proposed pool receives approval under the 2023-2026 Capital Plan, this is just the beginning.
Because the reasons that people like you love Mount Pleasant Park, and the reasons you spend time there with friends and family, are not going away. More and more of us will continue to live in apartments with less space and no yards, and more of us will continue to value the health and well-being we experience from being in nature.
In your own words, here are just a few reasons why friends of Mount Pleasant Park are opposed to the proposed pool:
“…the park is shared by so many people as a necessary green space to all of those who live in small apartments. This was illustrated amazingly during Covid when the park was absolutely packed every night with locals.”
“With the increased density of housing in the neighbourhood many don’t have yards.”
“Mt Pleasant Park is the perfect back yard for the entire community. Outdoor birthdays, toddlers chasing bubbles, playing catch and friends meeting over coffee…. Please don’t wreck the park with an unwanted amenity that is easily available elsewhere.”
If you promise to keep spreading the word over these next two critical weeks, encouraging your friends and neighbours in Mount Pleasant and across the city to send letters and phonecalls to City Council (copied to Park Board Commissioners), we promise to keep the pressure on these same decision-makers.
We will also continue reaching out to our allies across the city. Because Vancouverites love Mount Pleasant Park. And this is a Vancouver issue. We support our neighbours around the city whose ageing infrastructure needs to be repaired: playgrounds, community centre upgrades, sidewalks and housing. A new pool in Mount Pleasant is frivolous, fiscally irresponsible, and directly contradicts several of the stated priorities of both City Council and Park.
Promises made 15 years ago to replace the old pool were for a community that no longer exists, and does not represent the Mount Pleasant of today. Mount Pleasant has grown and changed and will continue to do so. Many City Councillors and Park Board Commissioners seem to be under the impression that residents of Mount Pleasant are aware and generally supportive of the proposed pool. This is wrong – awareness is very low and there is much opposition. Given this, we cannot emphasise enough how important it is for these decision-makers to hear directly from you!
We know we are on to something important. This awareness raising campaign (including the petition, a facebook group, and a neighbourhood poster campaign covered by the media) is spreading across our neighbourhood by word of mouth. Those opposed to the pool represent a wide array of residents, from Simon Fraser elementary students to millennials living in apartments to retired homeowners and working professionals like myself with busy families.
Please keep spreading the word and make sure you’ve contacted City Councillors and told them what Mount Pleasant Park means to you and why this park is the wrong location for a pool.
Thank you for standing with us.
Warm regards,
Joleen
P.S. If you want to get involved or in touch, please join our facebook group or reach out to no_pool@icloud.com.