It has been a hectic 24 hours behind the walls at Vancouver City Hall due to a proposal to abolish the Vancouver Park Board, but it’s not what’s behind the walls, it’s what’s been going on behind closed doors that has many concerned.
On Wednesday, at 1:08 am, Daily Hive Urbanized published an exclusive report about Mayor Ken Sim’s plans to abolish the Vancouver Park Board.
Many have voiced their opposition.
“We have another three years to go, and a lot of damage can be done to the city with that kind of attitude,” Vancouver City Councillor Pete Fry told Daily Hive Urbanized.
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“I don’t see very good rationale in here. And really, it appears that it’s about concentrating power in the mayor’s office, and I do have a problem with that,” the Green Party councillor said.
The behind-closed-doors approach is something both Fry and Vancouver Park Board Commissioner Tom Digby, who initially broke the news on X, have taken significant issue with.
“How petty does it get?” Digby asked rhetorically.
How petty does it get? Last week @KenSimCity did not get his choice of Chair for @ParkBoard. That’s cause the @VanGreens tipped the balance with split ABC. This week it appears he wants @Dave_Eby to abolish PB altogether. Waiting to hear abt private ABC meeting this aft.
— Tom Digby 狄弼 (@ThomasDigby1) December 5, 2023
Digby told Daily Hive Urbanied that this proposal could eliminate the level of public input that the Vancouver Park Board has enabled for 137 years.
“Vancouverites have grown up knowing that there’s a small-scale democracy, that they can go to their park board and they can talk about Stanley Park, they can talk about migratory pathways, they can talk about pottery classes and ballroom dancing, they can talk about the beaches and the damage that sea level rise is doing to the seawall,” he said.
“It doesn’t have to exist. But I think there’s a place for small-scale democracy in our lives.”
Digby is greatly concerned about the lack of transparency, much like Fry.
“My gosh, the lack of open doors. It’s all been behind closed doors since the get-go, and that also tells you about the mayor, proving that it’s not working for him,” Digby said.
Digby also suggested that Sim was moving forward with this “out of anger.”
Many others have voiced their concerns online, including former park board commissioners like John Coupar and Sarah Blyth-Gerszak, and former Vancouver Councillor Melissa De Genova.
We come from different political parties, but @sarahblyth and I agree on the importance of saving #ParkBoard.
It’s not about politics,it’s about people and protecting green space, now and for future generations. 8 Council votes is all it takes to sell city-owned land. #VanPoli https://t.co/OnYy04gYo9— Melissa De Genova 鄭慧蘭 (@MelissaDeGenova) December 6, 2023
Coupar went so far as to label Sim a “rookie mayor.”
Since 1890 we have had an elected @ParkBoard all Mayors and Councils since then have seen it’s value. Suddenly a rookie Mayor decided he knows better than all those that preceded him…Very Interesting ! https://t.co/ejDAFCsqaK
— John Coupar (@JohnCCoupar) December 6, 2023
Sim told Daily Hive Urbanized that the move would improve the situation for parks.
“Make no mistake about it, as long as I’m mayor of Vancouver, parks will always be parks, and golf courses will always be golf courses. We’re going to ask the provincial government to actually strengthen the protections,” Sim told Daily Hive Urbanized.
It isn’t just politicians who are voicing their concerns online, with many members of the public seemingly in support of Sim’s proposal.
Park Board is nothing but an expensive joke. Should have been cut years ago, nothing but partisan politics on a stretch of road that commuters need to get to/from work for decades. Makw it part of the City’s current elected officials responsibility.
— Mark Smith (@smitty_mark) December 6, 2023
A petition has also been started.
Whether or not this proposal comes to fruition remains to be seen, as it is pending provincial approval.
Do you agree with Sim’s proposal?
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