THE WEDNESDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS
MARCH 20, 2013 www.tricitynews.com
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
INSIDE
Tom Fletcher/A10 Letters/A11 A Good Read/A15 Community Calendar/A18
Swinging legend in PoCo
On the pitch, in the pool
SEE ARTS, PAGE A19
SEE SPORTS, PAGE A22
Cycle path bucks Connections for cyclists in region By Sarah Payne THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Tri-City cyclists will benefit from more than $800,000 in provincial BikeBC funding for bike path improvements in Port Moody and Coquitlam. The biggest chunk of provincial dollars ($652,625) will pay for up to half of the projected $1.3-million cost of building a cantilevered bike and pedestrian path on the Moody Street overpass. PoMo city staff applied for the grant in the fall after a structural engineering consultant offered the city three options for improving cycling and pedestrian routes across the overpass. The first two options would have widened the existing sidewalk using standard concrete and rebar designs, resulting in a path up to 2.04 m wide. The third option — the one endorsed by council — uses lighter materials and “modern design techniques” to create a sidewalk width of 3.44 m. Staff recommended this option, saying it would best serve the community by providing room for two-way cycling and pedestrian travel. Th e r e m a i n i n g $650,000 needed for the project will come from development levies of $400,000; a source for the last $250,000 was expected to be found during the 2013 budget process. see GREENWAY, page A3
MARIA SPITALE-LEISK/THE TRI-CITY NEWS
The parents of Nathaniel, Breanna and Lucas Aubertin and Kaitlyn Harris — seen here playing at the playground at Coquitlam’s Town Centre Park — are concerned about the restructuring of pre-school programs at nearby Pinetree community centre, where, starting in September, the focus will be on physical activity. For more, see article on page A3.
More pay parking in Coq. By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Changes are coming to parking regulations in Coquitlam’s City Centre. The city is expanding its on-street pay parking to include Glen Drive,The High Street and Town Centre Boulevard. It will also be extending the parking duration along Pinetree Way north of Guildford Way from two hours to four hours. Dan Mooney, the city’s manager of roads and traffic operations, said since the city put a twohour limit in place last
IN QUOTES
“The system is not quite yet running at a revenue-neutral position.” Coquitlam city staff report on pay parking year, the number of cars that park along Pinetree has decreased. Staff believe that increasing the amount of time a person can park in that area will help the city achieve its goal of 85% utilization for on-street parking. “We try and reflect the surrounding land uses,” he said. “We also recog-
nize that there are a variety of customers. We try and hit the sweet spot — 15% vacancy.” The changes outlined in a staff report that council voted unanimously in favour of Monday night will also help the city’s parking operations achieve revenue neutrality. Last year, the city implemented a pay park-
ing strategy in an effort to recoup some of the costs of maintenance and parking enforcement. “The modifications to the pay parking system made last fall have resulted in some improvements to the financial condition of the parking operations. However, the system is not quite yet running at a revenue-neutral position,” said a city staff report. Mooney added with the new meters, staff have a better idea of when and for how long drivers are parking. gmckenna@tricitynews.com
Coq. wants a bridge By Gary McKenna THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Coquitlam council would like to see a fourlane crossing replace the current Braid Street Bailey bridge to New Westminster but, in the meantime, will likely have to settle for something smaller. On Monday, councillors voted in favour of a report that would see the city’s engineers engage their Royal City counterparts to coordinate the replacement of the single-lane structure. see ‘URGENT MATTER’, page A8