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Kitsilano residents to protest Seaside Greenway completion party

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Kitsilano residents protest Seaside Greenway completion party
The City of Vancouver held a party today to celebrate a seaside greenway through one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods. But others are infuriated by the project, calling it a waste of taxpayers’ money. Jill Bennett reports – Sep 9, 2017

The City of Vancouver is hosting a public event from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon, to celebrate the completion of the Point Grey section of the Seaside Greenway.

It’s been a contentious project, and not everyone is in the mood to party.

Wake Up Vancouver Member Fiona Brodie is one of those people.

“What are you partying about? Think about that,” she says.

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She says the $12.4-million project was a waste of money, and now the city is spending even more for what she calls an unnecessary party.

“It just seems nuts. As a taxpayer, I get really, really angry that money is being wasted like this.”

She says the money would be better spent on social services and housing.

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“They raised our taxes to find $500,000 for the opioid crisis in their budget, and still pressed ahead with expenses like this on the richest postal code in the country.”

The City of Vancouver has responded, saying a total of $2,800 has been spent on Saturday’s gathering for tent rentals and activities like bike repair and a Lego booth.

The funds are allocated from the project in support of the City’s active transportation promotion and enabling plan.

An email statement reads “In particular, we wanted to take the opportunity to thank residents for their patience and welcome people by to use this new public amenity.”

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