Jericho Wharf gets demolition reprieve

The Vision Vancouver/COPE/Green majority on the Vancouver park board has halted further action on the previous board's decision to demolish the Jericho Wharf.

A popular spot for beach walkers, the dock was built in the 1930s for the Royal Canadian Air Force's amphibious aircraft operations.

Current COPE park board vice-chair Loretta Woodcock was the only commissioner on the old board who opposed tearing down the structure. Some residents support getting rid of the wharf in order to reclaim the foreshore area, while others want to preserve it for its historic significance.

Woodcock told the Straight that Vision, COPE, and Green commissioners who hold six of the seven seats on the park board decided in a caucus meeting to study the matter further. This was confirmed separately by Vision park board chair Raj Hundal.

Kitsilano resident Joan Bunn has gathered hundreds of signatures to save the wharf that she describes as "irreplaceable".

"The views are truly spectacular because it stands well out over the water," Bunn told the Straight. "It's one of the places with an unimpeded view of the downtown peninsula, the”¦mountains, and the ocean."

NPA commissioner Ian Robertson defended the decision of the previous board, saying it was the "most fiscally responsible option".

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