I know, I know. The homeowners along Vancouver’s swanky Point Grey Road don’t foster the warmest or fuzziest feelings among Lower Mainlanders. But if you’re a taxpayer in the City of Vancouver, you should be standing solidly with them on this one.

Gregor Robertson’s Vision Vancouver, having closed Point Grey Road to anything but local vehicle traffic a couple of years ago, is now planning to tear out 120 mature trees and spend $6.4 million on an expanded sidewalk. From the CBC:

Residents along Point Grey Road don't understand why the City of Vancouver has decided to spend $6.4 million to expand the sidewalk in front of their homes by 1.2 metres.

"If you want to fix the sidewalk, fix the sidewalk. But to make the sidewalk wider when it is not needed on a street where there are no cars allowed — that is insane," said Nelson Skalbania, who has lived on the street for 30 years.

(Yes, THAT Nelson Skalbania. The one who owned the WHA Indianapolis Racers and signed a 17 year old hockey superstar named Wayne Gretzky. But I digress.)

Anyway, car traffic has dropped from 10,000 vehicles to a few hundred, and bikes have gone from a few hundred to a few thousand since Vision started tinkering with Point Grey. Pedestrian numbers have remained roughly the same.

In a city that needs so much, spending another $6.4 million on that road is a terrible priority. Why bother?

The Concerned Kitsilano Residents group is fighting this – check out their website HERE.