Letterbox: Where are we growing to?

Dear editor,

Coquitlam and the Tri-Cities are growing, but are we keeping pace with the needs of the people who live here?

We talk a great deal about housing targets, density and development approvals. These are important issues, but I believe it is time to step back and ask a more fundamental question: Are we building complete communities that support people at every stage of life?

As a grandparent, I see the challenges facing young families as they struggle to find affordable, accessible daycare. Without reliable childcare, parents face difficult choices about employment, family finances and caring for their children. Yet childcare facilities can be overlooked when we plan for new residential development.

More recently, my family experienced the challenges of navigating end-of-life care for my mother. I came away with an even greater appreciation of how essential compassionate hospice and palliative care are to patients and their families. When someone we love is approaching the end of their life, access to appropriate care, dignity and support should not be an added source of uncertainty and stress.

These are not isolated family concerns. They are community needs that deserve greater attention as our population grows and ages.

We need housing, but we also need the services and infrastructure that make neighbourhoods livable. We need places for children to learn and grow, support for working families, accessible services for older adults, and compassionate care when life draws to a close.

We must also reconsider how we approach development and whether our decisions adequately account for long-term community needs and changing circumstances. Once mature trees are removed, established green spaces are lost or opportunities to provide essential services are missed, those losses can be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse.

Development decisions should not be viewed in isolation. They shape our neighbourhoods for generations. When opportunities arise to provide meaningful community benefits, we should ask whether we are doing enough to ensure that growth serves the people who will live with its consequences.

Could municipalities and developers work together to make purpose-built daycare facilities a more consistent part of community planning? Could we establish meaningful partnerships and contributions toward hospice and palliative-care services? Could we give greater consideration to protecting mature trees, preserving natural spaces and maintaining the environmental benefits that established neighbourhoods provide?

I recognize that these services require funding, partnerships, appropriate operators and careful planning. No single development can solve every community need. But that is precisely why we need a coordinated approach involving municipalities, developers, healthcare providers, childcare operators and the broader community.

As the Tri-Cities continue to grow, we have an opportunity to do more than build homes. We can build neighbourhoods where families can raise their children, older adults can receive the care they need, and natural spaces are valued for the benefits they provide.

Growth should not be measured only by the number of homes we build, but by the quality of life we create for the people who will live in them.

I urge our elected representatives, developers and fellow residents to reconsider what we expect from development and to ask whether we are planning adequately for the needs of our entire community.

We still have opportunities to make thoughtful choices. Let us not wait until essential services are overwhelmed, mature trees are gone and opportunities for better planning have passed.

The question is not whether the Tri-Cities should grow. It is whether we have the foresight to ensure that they grow well.

With the municipal election approaching, residents have an opportunity to reflect on the kind of community they want the Tri-Cities to become and what they expect from their elected representatives. Beyond housing targets and development approvals, we should be asking candidates how they intend to address childcare shortages, access to hospice and palliative care, the protection of mature trees and the long-term livability of our neighbourhoods. Are our current approaches meeting these needs, or is it time to rethink how we plan for growth? These are important questions for residents to consider as they decide who will lead our communities into the future.

Janet Krgovich
Coquitlam, B.C.