Community Livability

Ravenswood connected to Anmore Elementary.

The BC government recently announced a $30 million Community Recreation Grant Program developed to addresss the unique challenges faced by communities in the Province with respect to meeting their recreational infrastructure needs.

The concept of the program is to invest in local government capital projects that make communities healthier, more active places in which to live.  Grant programs like this are an important funding source that can assist our Village in improving our infrastructure and the overall livability of our community.  

In Anmore, we have some amazing outdoor opportunities for recreation, but some of the infrastructure needed to enhance those opportunities or provide more universal access are just not there yet.  After years of planning, we now have a tennis court located at Anmore Elementary School and have recently installed play equipment in our local Anmore Spirit Park.  Both of these items are infrastructure improvements that benefit residents and encourage us to live healthier more active lives.  We've also had community discussions about a proposed community hall, volleyball courts, and current and future joint use agreements between Anmore and School District 43.  These are all projects that deserve consideration and discussion by our community and might be appropriate projects to seek grant funding for.

Another area that I think needs to be addressed is our community trail network.  How easy it is to travel around a community, is an important factor to consider when discussing community livability... Most of Anmore's current pathways that stretch the length of Sunnyside and East Road were build through volunteer efforts and they have been a wonderful addition to our community.  I would like to see more pathway projects like this in Anmore and community consultation on how we want our pathways and trail networks to develop over the coming years.  In particular I think that our community should look at how we can link neighbourhoods through trail networks that encourage walking and cycling within our Village. 

Whistler is a great example of how long term planning can help develop a successful trail network.  Over 20 years ago a few volunteers started planning how they wanted Whistler connected and in 2011 you can take pedestrian and bike pathways throughout the entire valley area to almost every neighbourhood and recreational area in Whistler. 

How can we apply this model to Anmore.. well we certainly won't have the tourism dollars to contribute to a trail network, but we definitely can apply the idea of long term planning. Anmore has clearly laid out their road networks in our Official Community Plan, but there is little mention of pathway planning. I would like our OCP to clearly outline how we want our current and future community linked for pedestrian and bike traffic within Anmore and to the surrounding communities.  Trail networks and access to both bike and walking paths should be a part of our Official Community plan, just like roadway planning is included in any municipal OCP.  

Outlining a pathways plan in our OCP based on community consultation and thorough input from residents will help us identify funding sources, guide development and provide our municipality with the tools to move forward with a long term plan.

What are your thoughts on pedestrian and bike pathways in Anmore? 

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**Above is a great example of a completed pathway that is wide enough to accomodate both walking and cycling traffic and links the Ravenswood Development to the Anmore Elementary School area, Friendly Forest Preschool and our Village tennis courts.