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I have a bittersweet relationship with Richmond Hill, Ontario. We first moved to Canada from Pakistan in 1996 and settled in Scarborough. It was our first taste of Canadian life—until one day, our car was stolen right from the driveway. Funny how people always say Canada is so safe; back in Karachi, we never had a car stolen from our driveway! Go figure.

That incident nudged us to move to Richmond Hill, where we lived just north of 16th Avenue and Observatory. It felt peaceful and clean. I got married and moved into an apartment near the McDonald’s at Major Mackenzie and Yonge. Eventually, we bought our first house back in Scarborough—because, frankly, that’s all we could afford. Later, we moved to Texas for a few years, and in 2018, we returned to Richmond Hill, imagining it would still have that small-town charm.

And to be fair, it does have some of that charm—but it’s also changed in ways that are frustrating.

Let me explain.

There’s a McDonald’s near the Bayview and Major Mack intersection. It’s busy, but what really caught my attention were the 27 signs plastered around the area. Twenty-seven. That’s more signage than I’ve seen in any McDonald’s—even in Las Vegas! I missed a traffic sign because a giant digital ad from McDonald’s was placed directly in front of the “No Right on Red” sign. I got pulled over by a cop, and even he couldn’t argue it was clearly visible. That moment made me start observing more closely.

I wrote to the mayor at the time and to others, and thankfully, many of those signs were removed. But it raised a bigger question: Is this what we want Richmond Hill to feel like? A cluttered corporate intersection?

Then there’s the trash.

Unfortunately, I live on the path that Bayview Secondary School students walk through on their way home. Every day, McDonald’s wrappers, drink cups, and bags get thrown onto my lawn and even the city’s green spaces. I end up cleaning it—daily. I kept thinking, “Why isn’t something being done about this?” Shouldn’t corporate giants like McDonald’s be held accountable for their footprint in our community?

McDonald’s might sponsor sports teams, but we’re still the ones feeding this machine. As residents—and parents—we have to remember we’re also consumers. And what’s going into our kids’ bodies matters. In fact, in some towns in Virginia, McDonald’s isn’t even allowed to display their yellow arches. They’re required to match the town’s aesthetic through a negotiation process.

That’s how it should be.

Now let’s talk about Walmart, another anchor in the area. The floodlights from their lot blast straight into our homes. A few years ago, there were trees buffering that light. Now? Most are gone. It’s like living under a stadium spotlight in your own backyard. Then there are the abandoned shopping carts—you’ll find them strewn across sidewalks, storm drains, and grassy patches. It’s not just ugly, it’s negligent.

I can’t help but ask: Where is the vision?

This is Richmond Hill—a town that grew into a city. But it shouldn’t lose its character along the way. Why not demand better zoning regulations? Why not push for more trees and green buffers? Why not make it feel like a community and not a concrete strip mall?

Honestly, I love Richmond Hill. That’s why this bothers me. I want to make Richmond Hill great—not just for us, but for our kids. For newcomers. For anyone walking through its streets or raising a family here.

We deserve better than trash in the storm drains, fluorescent lights flooding our homes, and commercial sprawl without heart.

Let’s raise the standard.

Let’s make Richmond Hill not just a place to live—but a place to love.