I am glad to see all the tourists in town enjoying Penticton, place has been packed, the farmers’ market is packed and exciting and the beaches full of sunbathers.
Imagine if the city had their way and put parallel parking on Lakeshore? Recently it took me three passes to find one available parking spot. I wondered why there were so many tourists, so did some research and what is negative on a world-scale is positive for Canada in the tourism sector. Our low dollar has been a major draw. American tourists are way up as well as international tourists, especially with terrorism in European/Middle Eastern countries, many are looking for safer places to travel and Canada is favoured for being a safe country to travel.
I am certain Canada will benefit long term from this — I am sure the city will be patting themselves that this was exclusively their doing.
I also noticed the parks have also been packed and very well utilized contrary to city hall beliefs. More tourists, more use of parks, hence we need more park/greenspace as tourism expands. I doubt the mayor and council will read this, as we must assume they have been gag ordered since election day to fulfill their dream team agenda without guilt from public outcry, also meaning it will not stop and much more is yet to come.
With this belief by so many, it is time to end this third-world politics and restore the democratic process that so many Canadians have been proud to fight for (with the exception of Penticton politicians, of course).
Clifford Martin
Penticton