Kamloops Seniors: growing in numbers and need to be heard

According to Interior Health data, in 2008, 17% of people in Kamloops are 65 and older. By 2018 it will be 21%. Whatever the City of Kamloops does, seniors need to be considered.

As a candidate for councillor for the City of Kamloops, here are some things I would like to address if elected to represent you.

1. Expand the Safer Streets Program. Currently, the City of Kamloops focuses on making streets and sidewalks safer around elementary schools. This program should be expended to include areas of high numbers of seniors. For example, Vernon Avenue on the north side of Northills Mall has no sidewalks on either side of the street, no level entrance by sidewalk to the mall at the Southwest corner (stairs, ramps or level entrance on the street only). There are a high number of seniors (including right at the corner of Vernon Avenue & Tranquille and over at Cottonwood) in this area. Glenfair, in Peterson Creek, is a seniors' residence. There are no sidewalks from Glenfair down to Columbia street. Residents, whether in wheelchairs, scooters, or walkers have to walk in the middle of the street to get out of their residence. At Columbia and 4th, as in many locations, the wheelchair ramp is insufficient. The sidewalk dip on the south east corner only goes onto the sidewalk crossing 4th. People who want to cross Columbia on the east side of the intersection must enter vehicular traffic to get onto the sidewalk crossing Columbia Street.

2. Seniors need more housing options. Kamloops has a 0.5% vacancy rates. Adequate housing is a problem for many seniors, especially those of lower incomes. Housing has been identified by Interior Health as a key component to health. The City needs to work actively with all levels of government and non-profits to ensure housing options are available to all seniors. I would also like the City facilitate seniors who own their own homes who need to upgrade (e.g. safety rails, wider doorways) get grants from the provincial and federal governments. Some cities have a resource page on their website where seniors can go to get this type of information. The City could also follow the lead of other cities who have adopted building codes that address the needs of aging citizens.

3. Make seniors groups a priority. There are city representatives on many business committees such as the Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Home Builders' and Business Improvement Associations, but the Seniors Information Resource and Referral Service has told me that when they asked for city representation the city turned down their request. With seniors making up such a large portion of the population, the voices of seniors need to be heard.

4. Sidewalks & snow. Falling is a major hazard when people age, and icy sidewalks are a major hazard. I would like the City to aggressively enforce sidewalk clearing bylaws, especially for businesses and government. As an example, I notice that the School District and some provincial government agencies often do not clear their sidewalks.

5. Senior friendly parks - one complaint I have heard many times is that seniors often feel unsafe going to the local parks. Activity is key to health. Perhaps the City could have "senior days" where seniors will know that there will be city staff in the parks at specific times so they feel more comfortable going to the park.

Candidate backs Community Forest License

As candidate for Kamloops council in the November 2008 civic elections, supports the City of Kamloops working with others to acquire a Community Tree Farm License.

Currently, Weyerhaeuser is selling its Tree Farm License (TFL) that supplied its now closed Kamloops sawmill. The only local group that has bid on a portion of the TFL is the Whispering Pine Indian Band. West Fraser Timber, with head office in Quesnel, is one of the other groups bidding on the TFL.

I applaud the Whispering Pine band. They seem to be the only local group that is actively trying to keep wood processing jobs in Kamloops. But even more jobs could be kept in Kamloops if we had a community TFL. There are a number of small wood processing plants in the Kamloops and without an assured source of wood they will have a difficult time continuing to operate. All of Kamloops should be concerned if these processing plants loss this wood source.

There are many communities in BC with at TFL including Revelstoke, Burns Lake and Mission. These communities consider their TFLs as a key component to their economic plan.

These communities have worked to keep high paying forestry jobs in their community. While they are at the Union of BC Municipalities convention this week in Penticton, I encourage the current councillors to speak to their colleagues from these other communities to see how it's done.

Source materials:
http://www.mission.ca/AssetFactory.aspx?did=31
http://www.cityofrevelstoke.com/edc/profile-economic.htm
http://www.city.terrace.bc.ca/documents/Community%20Forest%20Overview.pdf

Directory of Community Forest Organizations in BC: http://www.denmanis.bc.ca/directory

Kamloops Downtown Parking - A Looming Issue

As a candidate in the November 2008 elections for Kamloops City Council, I want to raise concerns about parking. Specifically, how the proposed Casino between 5th and 6th Avenue on Lansdowne and the proposed Cactus Jack's bar at the corner of 5th and Lansdowne will affect the Royal Canadian Legion. A member of Kamloops' Legion which is located at 425 Lansdowne has spoken to me about the current parking issue for Legion members and the Legion's difficulty in finding a solution with City Hall.

The added number of people coming to the area is expected to make the problem even worse. I want to make sure that in considering the zoning of the casino and the bar, the Legion, as well as other businesses in the area are not adversely affected. The Legion has already been affected by the recent upgrades to Lansdowne Street, when metered parking was removed between 4th and 5th Avenue on the north side of the street.

The Legion has also asked the city for a handicap or loading zone in front of their building, so that at a minimum their members with mobility issues can be dropped off. The city has turned down their request. They have also not been able to get an agreement with Lansdowne Village Mall that would allow their members to park in their parking lot.

The casino may have up to 1000 patrons attending. The casino plan includes an underground parkade for 220 parking stalls. The Cactus Jack's site is proposed to have a patron capacity of 650 patrons, but has only 12 parking spots.

We need to remember that the site of the proposed casino already has a parking lot of 180 stalls, so the casino will not be adding that many more real spots to the area. It's about fairness. In the past when the Legion asked the city for permission to move to another site with 21 parking spots, their development permit was denied. The city insisted they have 28 parking spots. Now, the Legion members will be facing extreme difficulty finding parking close to their club because of these new developments.

The Royal Canadian Legion, which is a service organization, uses its club to raise money for many community services.

The Legion provides more low-cost housing across Canada than any other agency. In Kamloops, seniors benefit from the Legion apartment on St. Paul. Street. I want to help the Legion find a solution that will allow their members, many of whom use walkers or wheelchairs, to be able to easily access their club.

As a solution to the parking crunch that is anticipated, the city is looking at building a taxpayer funded parkade at 4th and Lorne Avenue.

Expecting seniors with walkers to walk from Lorne is unacceptable to me and the Legion member I spoke with. I also wonder at the fairness of having some businesses having to provide parking while others have parking provided by taxpayer.