Possible closure of ambulance station in downtown Vancouver a major concern: NDP

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The future of ambulance service in downtown Vancouver is a concern for one MLA.

The province has sold its property on Richards Street where the only downtown ambulance station sits.

The NDP’s Spencer Chandra-Herbert, who represents the Vancouver-West End, says he couldn’t believe his ears when he heard the lease on the property wasn’t going to be renewed.

He says that leaves the downtown dependent on ambulances coming from Cordova Street.

“To instead house the ambulances all outside of downtown Vancouver, where they either have to cross bridges or get through a very busy bottleneck in Gastown, it makes no sense. I think the BC Liberals need to be chastised for it.”

He says it’s a matter of saving lives. “You need one downtown to restock ambulances. If you go to a call and use up all of your supplies, you need to go back to the station to restock. If you’re forcing one to drive up to 10, 20, 30 minutes, depending on traffic, to and from to do that, that’s time they can’t spend helping people.”

Chandra-Herbert says the provincial government has given no indication how much the property on Richards Street was sold for.

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