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LETTER: Let's not sell out our beloved Canmore

Editor: Developers are creating a divided town inspired by speculation. This "mountain sprawl" that the town is allowing is the worst kind of carbon footprint. This is not the direction we as a community want to go.

Editor: 

Developers are creating a divided town inspired by speculation.

This "mountain sprawl" that the town is allowing is the worst kind of carbon footprint. This is not the direction we as a community want to go. 

We must respond to this pressure and not let it roll over us. Preservation of the small town character is in jeopardy. What we stand to lose is a lifestyle to which we aspire. We are going to be living in a faceless, sterile environment that most of us thought we had left behind.

The impact of development is already showing consequences. The downtown core is key to the success of the community and tourism. 

Main Street has been deteriorating for the last 10 years. Main Street represents the town’s history and small town values. It is the heart and soul of our community. 

In it, we have a meeting place, a central core where town’s people can hang out, chat with neighbours and gather together for events such as our annual parade. If we lose Main Street we lose the heart of our community.

Already alternative retail development has been scattered around town. The town is beginning to feel displaced and this is creating a poor impression and a stagnant Main Street. 

Looking at Canmore today, it is already showing its sprawl of mostly empty houses and condos occupying this valley.  We are a town whose main industry has become real estate speculation. With over 85 real estate agents in a town of 14,000, the picture is clear.

Canmore needs to move from "mass to class." Instead of empty houses and needless commercial development to service them, how about  a university dedicated to mountain culture and the natural environment? 

The impacts of this development will be a decreased quality of life for all in this valley. We must respect our environment by protecting the soul of this special place. 

If you wish to take this charming small town, bound by a mountain culture that is the envy of Canada, and let it degrade to a mountain sprawl of empty speculative houses and displaced retail, then continue on the path we are on.

Let’s take a stance. You can make a difference. We can’t go back and fix it later.

Linda Evans,

Canmore

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