SCHOOLS GETS CASH FOR PLAYGROUNDS
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‘POVERTY’ DECLINES, NOBODY NOTICES
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TEMPTATION ON A BUSINESS TRIP
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WEDNESDAY
JUNE 27 2012
www.newwestnewsleader.com
Forty-one years after joining Westminster Savings, CEO Barry Forbes is calling it a day. See Page A8
City watches as river rises Fraser could become a problem in New Westminster this weekend Grant Granger newwestnewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
Patrick Johnstone gives instructions to protesters rallying in Sapperton Park against TransLink plans to build a new, expanded Pattullo Bridge.
TransLink seeks to explain decision Will detail reasons to cities for why it chose six-lane Pattullo Bridge replacement Grant Granger ggranger@newwestnewsleader.com
TransLink’s offer to talk about “practical options” for the Pattullo Bridge with the cities of New Westminster and Surrey won’t derail its plans to pursue a six-lane replacement of the aging structure. In a letter to New Westminster council earlier this month, TransLink director for roads Sany Zein offered
to bring all the sides together. But he maintained the 75-year-old structure still needs to be replaced and that’s why a second round of open houses is continuing this week despite the planned three-party summit. “We have been listening to the concerns expressed by council, city staff and the residents of New Westminster and we understand we need to better explain the work we have done so far,” said Zein on Monday. Zein said TransLink has done a lot of analysis over the last six years in coming to its conclusion
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and is inviting New Westminster and Surrey to the table to explain its many technical reports on the current structure and all the options that have been proposed. “We arrived at a solution that we think is the best one, but we want to make sure everyone is comfortable with that decision,” said Zein. “We obviously have heard the concerns and the questions being asked: why replace, why this location, what is the function, why are there trucks on the route ... why not a Surrey-Coquitlam connection or a Surrey-Burnaby connection? A lot of technical work
has already been undertaken, and we will be delving into it in more detail if need be.” In addition, Zein said TransLink is willing to work with the city on determining how New Westminster will be able to cope with the increase in traf¿c levels a replacement bridge would bring. TransLink held two open houses last week, including one at the Sapperton Pensioners Hall on Saturday. Another was there Tuesday with a ¿nal one at SFU’s Surrey campus Wednesday, 2 to 8 p.m. Please see TRANSLINK, A3
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The mighty Fraser River is Àexing its muscle and its strength could begin to have a signi¿cant impact in New Westminster by the end of the week. Provincial of¿cials reported there was heavy rainfall and rapid snowmelt over the weekend in the B.C. Interior, particularly in the Thompson River basin which contributes approximately 30 per cent of the Fraser’s volume in New Westminster, and to a lesser extent in the upper Fraser River. It typically takes ¿ve to six days for rainfall and snowmelt up north to reach the Lower Mainland. The river was expected to rise to 6.7 metres at the gauge in Mission on the weekend, but it only hit 6.3 metres. “We were quite happy the forecasted high never happened,” said New Westminster emergency director Dave Jones, who had staff out doing dike patrols on the weekend.
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