North Shore News July 7 2010

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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

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Water main break closes LV roads

Rupture creates sinkhole, floods eight homes James Weldon

jweldon@nsnews.com

EIGHT North Vancouver homes were flooded Monday afternoon when an aging water main burst at the intersection Lynn Valley and Hoskins Roads.

The rupture washed out part of the roadbed, creating a sinkhole four metres wide and two metres deep. Fire and municipal crews responded to the area, turning off the main and sealing the thoroughfare to traffic, but not before the water and debris had reached nearby homes. Eight houses were affected, with damage ranging from flooded lawns to flooded basements. Firefighters helped to pump out and clean up the residences, while municipal employees worked through the night to repair the pipe and backfill the hole. The break took place at about 3:45 p.m. and the road was reopened at 7:20 a.m. Tuesday. Therupturedmainwasoneof the district’s notorious asbestoscement water pipes. Installed in municipalities throughout North America last century, the obsolete conduits have earned a reputation for failing as they age. Although asbestos-cement pipes make up just a quarter of the district’s 360-kilometre network, they account for almost three-quarters of the 20 failures the municipality responds to on average annually. The district’s plan is to phase aging pipes out gradually over time, switching out a total of three to five kilometres of conduit each year at a cost of roughly $3 million. At the current rate, all the A-C pipe should be gone by 2027.

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

A broken water main creates a giant sink hole on the corner of Lynn Valley Road and Hoskins Road Monday afternoon. Eight houses were flooded, and rocks, mud and debris collected over nearby side streets.

Council rolls over on Seawalk dog trial proposal Niamh Scallan

newsroom@nsnews.com

CITY of West Vancouver councillors tightened the leash on dogs and their owners during a council meeting Monday night by unanimously quashing an appeal to allow canines access to a pedestrianonly section of the municipality’s Seawalk pathway.

The council decision responded to a strong public backlash against the proposal. “I appreciate the massive public sentiment and opinion that has come forward about retaining the sanctity of having a people-only section of the Seawalk,” said Coun. Shannon Walker. Councillorsopenedthefloortoconcernedresidents before discussing the proposal to open the waterside walkway from 13th Street to Dundarave Park to onleash dogs for a trial period in September. Nearly 50 people were present and several stepped

up to voice their concerns over the contentious debate that has divided the community. “It’s my understanding that today in West Van we’re all about inclusion, not exclusion,” Clyde Avenue resident and dog-owner Rebecca Black said. “By drawing lines in the sand, we are creating sides rather than coming to a good solution to this problem.” Both dog owners and members of the West See On-leash page 3


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