Familiar whine from East Siders sets West Side man to wondering

To the editor:

I am sick and tired of East Siders using terms like "Kerrisdale-style NIMBYism" to describe Shane Simpson ("Simpson can't fill MacPhail's shoes," Letters, Nov. 24).

Now Simpson might be a nice addition to Kerrisdale, but the remark was not meant to be nice.

There are many vocal East Siders who feel they always get the short end of the stick from city hall, but when you see all the parks and wide streets on the East Side, you have to wonder about these people.

If anyone were to compare city expenditures as a percentage of revenue, East Side to West Side, the East would win.

As for Kerrisdale, I don't think any East Sider ever heard of it until RAV came along, but the fact is the Arbutus Corridor goes nowhere. It's just green space for walking or running. It heads away from downtown, being two blocks west of Granville at Marine and eight blocks at Broadway. And most important, there is no way you can dig, jump, straddle or bulldoze your way to downtown from Arbutus and Broadway.

Kerrisdale has been right all along in opposing RAV. Joy MacPhail should move to Kerrisdale.

Bob McCance, Vancouver

posted on 12/06/2004