Correspondence: Cooling Centres in View Royal

Correspondence Regarding Cooling Centres

From: A Resident Sent: Friday, July 9, 2021 2:40 PM To: Mayor And Council Email mayorandcouncil@viewroyal.ca Subject: Re: Cooling Centres

Good afternoon Mayor and Council,

I would like to share my disappointment in how the Town has handled the heat wave recently and my concerns for how future heat waves may be handled in the future. For context, I live in a south facing condo unit that gets all the afternoon sun, it gets quite hot on normal days, and I do not have a heat pump. My unit reached 29 degrees inside and has continued to retain heat where indoor temperatures continue to be 25.

I reached out to staff to understand what types of measures the town was taking in providing cooling centres in light of news and weather reports of dangerous heat. I have a dog and was wanting to plan alternative locations if it got too hot and my dog got heat stroke. I also know that there are seniors in my condo that are at greater risk of heat stroke and can imagine others were in need.

The response I received was that the Town was not providing any cooling centres and likely no other communities were. Using other communities' lack of action to rationalize the Town's lack of action does not inspire confidence. Further, I was told to keep my blinds closed and windows open to allow for air circulation. Closing blinds only does so much and windows should only be opened when the temperature outside is cooler than inside, otherwise there is no cooling benefit. The article that was shared captured key points that included visiting public buildings - but with a dog there are significant limitations (only Bosleys and other pet stores). The article also stated to know the signs of heatstroke and while yes this is important the emphasis should be on prevention.

We know that with climate change the frequency and severity of these events will continue to increase combined with the lack of cooling requirements in the BC Building Code puts residents, especially vulnerable populations, at a significant health risk. This event has shown me that despite news reports indicating the danger of the heat wave that the Town was either not paying attention or chose not to act. Media reports indicate that 716 people died suddenly during the heat wave and I hope that none were in View Royal.

I implore the Town to take heat waves more seriously, provide better information to residents and provide at a few cooling centres.

Thank you,

A Resident

On Fri, Jun 25, 2021 at 3:45 PM Troy D. Mollin TMollin@viewroyal.ca wrote:

View Royal has not planned any cooling centres for this hot spell. I am unaware of any other communities setting up cooling centres but the City of Victoria may be exploring it. My suggestion would be to use window coverings to reduce heat during the day and open windows to circulate air. If you are able to purchase or borrow a fan it will assist in creating air flow and keeping you cool. Check out this link for additional ideas for keeping cool: 11 Tips on How To Survive A Heat Wave Without Air-Conditioning - MedicineNet

Stay safe,

From: A Resident Sent: Thursday, June 24, 2021 6:21 PM To: Info Address info@viewroyal.ca Subject: Cooling Centres

Hi - I do not have AC and am south west facing condo unit that gets quite hot. Will there be cooling centres through the Town for the next few days? If so, will they be dog friendly?