For more than 15 years there’s been talk of building a school in Vancouver’s Olympic Village, yet the barren piece of land set aside for the elementary school remains undeveloped.
“I wish it had been built 15 years ago when it was supposed to have been built,” nearby resident Alex Oulton said.
In 2007, the development plan for Olympic Village anticipated an elementary school for the neighbourhood. Parents in the area are frustrated it never came to fruition.
“We have to commute normally by car every morning, and then my son has to travel and take two different busses to come back home after school,” Anne Maria said.
“Hopefully there’s something close by because just given how the daycares are run it’s first come first serve,” added Blake Meadows.
In 2020, the BC NDP promised it would build the school in its campaign. No school has been approved or funded.
“It takes a long time because it’s a complex thing to build a school,” said Brenda Bailey, NDP MLA for Vancouver-False Creek.
“For example, the negotiations between the City (of Vancouver) and the Vancouver School Board for that lease took quite a long time.”
A Vancouver city councillor gave her thoughts on the matter.
“The land has been there for a long time. There’s been a lease in place and so it does seem a long time to get a new school in place, particularly in part of the city where we know there’s a need,” ABC Vancouver’s Lisa Dominato said.
The Vancouver School Board has recently submitted a business case to the province for review and funding consideration.
“I don’t know until we see the budget later this month, but I do know the Vancouver School Board has prioritized this as (its) number one priority and it’s an extremely high priority for our government as well,” Bailey told Global News.
Other community members have told Global News the neighbourhood would not be able to handle the extra traffic congestion of a school in the area.
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