6TH STREET NIGHT NOISE RANKLES
page
4
CHOOSING WORK INSTEAD OF WELFARE
page
6
BIG SIGNS, BIG BUCKS FOR THE CITY
page
8
WEDNESDAY
JUNE 20 2012
www.newwestnewsleader.com
New West eye doc has been honoured for giving the gift of sight. See Page A11
What survey says no surprise Report reveals residents’ opinions on Pattullo Bridge Grant Granger newwestnewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Acrobatic dancers perform in the rain at the ofÀcial opening of Westminster Pier Park on Saturday. The park, which is situated on a former brownÀeld site along the New Westminster waterfront, includes a 600 metre boardwalk, festival lawn, two playgrounds, a basketball court and reversible loungers. See more photos on A3
RiverFest to put two festivals in one FraserFest and Artists on the River to merge on the last weekend in September Grant Granger ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
Artists on the River and FraserFest have been fused into one. RiverFest will make its debut the last weekend in September to honour World Rivers Day. It will be “a joyful, artful, soulful and environmentally mindful celebration of the Fraser River” and
will be held on the New Westminster waterfront and at the Fraser River Discovery Centre (FRDC). FraserFest had been put on annually by the Hyack Festival Association in July while Artists on the River was run by the FRDC in September. According to a press release, RiverFest is intended to celebrate the Fraser River and promote “a modern, vibrant sustainable and livable riverfront in New Westminster.” “Both organizations were expending signi¿cant resources, time and efforts in preparing festivals
EDDIE YAN & Team 604-722-7309 Your Burnaby Specialists
FREE HOME STAGING
centre realty
www.eddieyan.ca
that celebrated the Fraser River. Combining resources for a better, stronger product simply makes sense,” said Catherine Oullet-Martin, FRDC executive director. Hyack executive director Douglas Smith said the collaboration will build capacity. “The community is the big winner with the establishment of a sustainable, signature event with an elevated overall delivery model,” said Smith. RiverFest will have some of the previous activities such as
fresh fish daily
paddlewheel riverboat tours, the workboat parade, river artists and an artisan market, along with educational booths, activities from conservation organizations, community groups and aboriginal groups to build upon the river and environmental theme. A new element will be the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean Up on Sunday, Sept. 23 to launch the festival. Port Metro Vancouver will be RiverFest’s presenting sponsor. twitter.com/@lonegrangerbnw
Regent
FISH MARKET
4020 Hastings Street, Burnaby • 604-298-9828
NOW IN SEASON
FRESH SOCKEYE SALMON
The results of a survey of New Westminster residents on the possible replacement of the Pattullo Bridge will not surprise many. At open houses for its Master Transportation Plan and online, the City of New Westminster asked residents to complete the survey to get their opinion on TransLink’s plans. The results from the 210 responses show overwhelming support for the city’s policy to work toward not increasing through traf¿c for vehicles in New Westminster, with 74 per cent strongly agreeing on the position and only 14 per cent either disagreeing or strongly disagreeing. Seventy per cent of respondents opposed TransLink’s plan to have priority truck lanes on a new structure and 79 per cent said it is very important to discourage additional traf¿c in New Westminster if a new bridge is built. see LESS CLEAR, A9