BY ANDREA WINTERBOTTOM, Contributing Writer: A recent talk by Dr. O’Connor, Medical Health Officer for the North Shore, helped a group of Lynn Valley residents gauge the health of their neighbourhood.
The talk and slide show (depicting the transformation from Esso Station to Community Square with library, coffee shops and farmers market) centered on building communities that provide healthy choices for all. To achieve that, he said, we need trees, parks, trails, green spaces, libraries, shopping centres, recreation centres, services and jobs nearby. Diversity of housing for all stages of life is another hallmark or a healthy community.
After the talk, participants walked the walk to look at their neighbourhood through a healthy lens. Everybody who joined the social planners and urban planners from the City and the District kept an eye on the key components that Dr. O’Connor had talked about.
After the walk, participants indicated their findings on a ‘rate your community’ thermometer. Categories such as well-lit pedestrian walkways, wheelchair accessible sidewalks, and covered bus stops received high scores; Lynn Valley Square as a safe meeting place for all ages received many accolades.
If you look around Lynn Valley, you will notice that it features most if not all of the components needed to make it a healthy community. Most participants indicated that Lynn Valley is a friendly, bustling community that has climbed high on the ‘rate your community thermometer’ and definitely falls into the category of being a healthy community.