Just one more year.
As Sylvan Lake has basked in the sunny, warm temperatures of the past few weeks, we’ve seen the smiles and enjoyment of thousands of tourists we’ve welcomed to our community.
That’s an indication that the town’s lustre and lake’s shimmering waters have continued to act as a magnet for people from Central Alberta and beyond.
In fact, if you’ve taken a drive along Lakeshore Drive, you’ll probably have noticed, as we have, the proliferation of out-of-province licence plates.
While there are those who complain about the constant construction and inconvenience, the lack of access to the lakefront from the cabin area and the difficulty in manoeuvring the streets of our community, we really are on the downhill slide towards the end of construction along our waterfront and in other areas.
No matter what people say about cost and inconvenience though, with only a few minor exceptions, the Lakeshore Redevelopment project’s reality has been worth the wait and hassle.
Perhaps to the chagrin of some businesses which were focused on a different clientele, the changes have brought a more family-oriented atmosphere and certainly improved the area, particularly if you listen to anecdotal stories from various people who are charged with keeping us safe.
That’s definitely a benefit to our community as our leaders position the community’s reputation as a more wholesome, friendly and accommodating place to enjoy — whether for a few days in the summer or to make your home permanently.
As well, we’ve seen recently the support for family-friendly events such as the Shake The Lake action sports and music festival as well as Jazz At The Lake Festival.
Both have required extensive volunteer hours by dedicated members of our community, as well as the financial support from our local businesses which is so necessary when producing the type of events we’ve witnessed. These and other events enhance our community’s reputation locally and more widely.
As we review the changes, we think about how prescient they’ve been as demographics change and our community grows.
Whether our leaders and volunteers have been able to crystal ball gaze and determine what’s coming and how to prepare or whether they’re acting in a more proactive manner, we’ll leave to someone with more experience to determine.
What we do see, though, is the continuing growth of our community, not just as a great place to live but also as a great place to visit. And for that we’ve got to express thanks to everyone involved.
We see, on a weekly basis, the dedication of our residents to various aspects of making our lives more enjoyable. We chronicle some in the pages of this paper, but we don’t often enough take the time to say thanks, and keep up the good work.
Visiting other locales during the summer season we’ve witnessed the tremendous growth taking place in our province and in our country. We can see it in our own community too, but it doesn’t have the same impact until you step outside of familiar surroundings and view the changes we’re going to be experiencing.
Now we can say, with some authority, that we’re headed in the right direction, that decisions being made are beneficial to our well being and long term security.
Just one more year and many of the projects which are dominating discussion today will be mere memories and we’ll have moved on to other controversies … or should that be opportunities. We prefer the latter.