Crime: Commercial break-ins up in downtown Maple Ridge. 10
Community: Protect Maple Ridge from wild fire. 3
Sports: Ridge BMX riders flying high. 33 We d n es d ay, J u l y 3 0, 2 014 · ma pler i d g enew s. com · est. 1978 · (office)604-467-1122 · (del ive r y) 6 0 4 - 4 6 6 - 6 3 9 7
Sockeye opening expected Friday DFO predicting potential record run this year By Nei l Corbe tt ncorbett@mapleridgenews.com
Fraser Valley anglers are waiting like kids at Christmas for the sockeye salmon opening, a run that could more than double the previous record. They should only have to wait a few more days. “It’s a matter of being a little patient for a little while longer, and we should have more information by Friday,” said Jennifer Nener, Department of Fisheries and Oceans area director for the lower Fraser River. There was an initial opening for First Nations fishermen over the weekend. It will be expanded in the week ahead. See Sockeye, 9
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Judge’s eye Goats are judged at the Albion Fairgrounds on Saturday during Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Country Fest. Story, 4.
Ridge gets first speed humps Traffic calming for Shady Lane along 124th By M o ni s ha M ar tin s mmartins@mapleridgenews.com
The first speed humps in Maple Ridge are already slowing down traffic on Shady Lane. Technically known as “vertical deflections,” the raised asphalt bumps were installed last week along 124th Avenue, between Laity and 216th Street, at a cost of $10,000. Though speed humps are not a
recommended calming measure in the district’s traffic management policy, they are being tested along the stretch with the support from the neighbourhood, which has been plagued by an increase in traffic since the Golden Ears Bridge opened. District general manager of public works and development services Frank Quinn said the neighbourhood is already seeing a decrease in vehicles traveling along 124th Ave. “The people who use it for rat running are probably not excited about having to slow down,” he
added. “But mostly we are interested in the comments from the neighbourhood, and they seem pretty positive so far.” The district plans on monitoring the effectiveness of the speed humps for the next six months to a year. They were installed after much consultation with residents of Shady Lane. Quinn said the district looked at other measures, such as chicanes, but there were right-of-way issues. “When the residents understood
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that we were prepared to look at speed humps, that’s the one they wanted to go with.” Originally known as Blackstock Road, Shady Lane is listed on the Maple Ridge’s heritage register and valued by local residents for its “grand allée,” of fir, cedar, hemlocks and maples that form a verdant canopy over the street. Jennifer Caros and her neighbours are pleased that the speed humps have already reduced traffic and, more importantly, are getting drivers to slow down. See Traffic, 11
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Shady Lane residents say the speed humps have already helped slow traffic.
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