THE FRIDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Fave Christmas flicks?
Time to wrap it up
SEE FACE TO FACE, PAGE 11
SEE THINGS-TO-DO GUIDE, PAGE 18
DEC. 14, 2012 www.tricitynews.com
INSIDE
Letters/12 Your History/20 Elaine Golds/25 Sports/38
Final push Christmas hampers will soon go out to families and individuals in need in the Tri-Cities but Share Family and Community Services’ supply of non-perishable food items is running low. You can donate at local supermarkets or Share, or at www. sharesociety.ca. Katherine Lawrence and Vince Hudson of Share Family and Community Services load a truck with food during Thursday’s emergency food drive at the Sunwood Square Safeway store, where several people stopped by to make donations of cash or food. DIANE STRANDBERG THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Council aims to do better with its final Burke plans
Many plan to avoid Port Mann tolls: poll Poll finds $3 tolls will send majority of weekly bridge users to new routes By Jeff Nagel BLACK PRESS
A new poll of Lower Mainland drivers who use the Port Mann Bridge shows many plan to shift to untolled routes to avoid the new tolls — especially once a half-price introductory discount ends. The online survey conducted by Insights West suggests traffic congestion is set to worsen further on free crossings of the Fraser River such as the Alex Fraser and Pattullo bridges. It shows a third of commuters who normally used the Port Mann Bridge at least weekly intend to seek out new routes to avoid the toll. see MOTORISTS SEEK ALTERNATIVES, page 16
Local tragedy gets global attention online: People Google Amanda Todd along with a pop star and a princess. See story, page 9.
NEC plans haven’t quite worked out, councillors say By Janis Warren THE TRI-CITY NEWS
The fourth and busiest neighbourhood planned for Burke Mountain shouldn’t end up looking like the other three hillside areas, Coquitlam city council said this week.
Councillors said the vision for Burke hasn’t quite taken shape for the Upper Hyde Creek, Lower Hyde Creek and Smiling Creek neighbourhoods as they have built out. They cited the narrow streets, lack of parking — on street and at homes — and poor traffic patterns as among their biggest concerns with the mountain development. Councillors made their views known at
Monday’s council-inc om m i t t e e m e e t i n g as city managers presented the draft plan for Partington Creek, Burke’s last major neighbourhood and one that’s expected to be the commercial and recreational hub for the 20,000-plus residents expected to occupy the area. Coun. Craig Hodge said he took part in the Burke planning workshops years ago, and the dream for a sustain-
able, walkable community hasn’t panned out, with over-densification and crowded streets, especially as most singlefamily homes have secondary suites. And he said many longtime Burke residents, such as himself, are struggling with the growth boom and transition, having to learn about planning policies in short order. see WHAT WENT, page 6