A14 TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2013 THE TIMES
Gravel guys solve Sumas issue L
ocal gravel operators at Summit resources and built a new road within Sand and Gravel, Mainland Sand the three quarry sites. The new road, and Gravel, and LaFarge Sand and which opened in January, re-routed 75 Gravel have collaboper cent of gravel truck rated to develop a new traffic off Keeping Road route that allows grav- “This is an excellent and was constructed at el truck traffic to stay example of neighbours no cost to the city. off Abbotsford roads “This is an excellent on Sumas Mountain. working together to example of neighbours At a neighbourhood working together to solve solve a problem.” meeting last fall, resia problem. This would dents expressed conhave been an expensive cern about the safety – Mayor Bruce Banman project if the city had to of heavily loaded gravbecome involved, but by el trucks navigating working together, local the steep incline on Keeping Road. business came up with their own soluLocal gravel operators met and came tion and everybody is happy and safe,” up with a solution: they pooled their said Abbotsford Mayor Bruce Banman
in a press release. “As a Sumas Mountain resident I’m pleased to see the success of this local project as offered up by local resident and land owner Gary Emmerson,” added Abbotsord Coun. Bill MacGregor. “And I can only hope that it will ultimately lead the way to many more good-will agreements.” Key organizers of the project were Gary Emmerson from Summit Sand and Gravel, Ted Carlson from Mainland Sand and Gravel, and Brad Kole and Bob Esau from Lafarge Sand and Gravel. – STAFF REPORTER
– SUBMITTED/FOR THE TIMES
Abbotsford gravel operators showcase the new road they’ve constructed on Sumas Mountain to Mayor Banman and Coun. Bill MacGregor.
Fraser Valley real estate takes a tumble DERRICK PENNER Vancouver Sun
H
omebuyers in the Lower Mainland remained on the sidelines in January, with markedly lower sales in both the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver saw 1,351 sales cleared through the Multiple Listing Service in January, down 14 per cent from the same month a year ago. And January’s sales were down 18 per cent from last month. In the Fraser Valley, the sales decline was even steeper – 23 per cent lower, to 617. “January’s numbers are not a surprise,” according to Cameron Muir, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Association.
Muir said stricter mortgage rules introduced for first-time buyers last summer bit into sales earlier, but now the bigger factor in declining sales is consumer sentiment that home prices will continue to decline. Prices in both regions have edged lower from peak levels seen last spring. In the Fraser Valley, the benchmark price of $420,900 across all property types for typical homes sold was down 2.5 per cent over the last six months. In Greater Vancouver, the benchmark price for a typical home across the region declined six per cent to $588,100, from $625,100 last May. That price is now 2.8 per cent lower than the same month a year ago. In his most recent forecast, released last
week, Muir estimated that lower prices will make housing more affordable for more buyers, and help turn around the decline in sales by the next quarter. He added that the fundamentals of employment growth, population growth and stronger economic activity that B.C. is experiencing should support a higher level of housing sales than the Lower Mainland saw in January. “Some buyers may be sitting on the sideline waiting for a deflationary spiral to develop,” Muir said. “When that doesn’t develop, when they realize they’re not going to see significant declines in pricing, they’ll get on with their lives and move on with purchasing decisions.” And there are some signs home sellers are also beginning to head to the sidelines.
In the Fraser Valley, new listings in January dropped four per cent to 2,643 compared with the same month a year ago, and the overall inventory of 8,031 homes is down 3.5 per cent from last January. “When a home seller isn’t receiving the kind of offers they want, there comes a point when they decide to either lower the price or remove the home from the market,” Eugen Klein, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said in a statement. “Right now, it seems many home sellers are opting for the latter.” In the Greater Vancouver board, while its inventory of 13,246 homes is 5.6 per cent bigger than the same month a year ago, new listings slowed 11 per cent to 5,128 in January, compared to the same month a year ago.
Is Traditional School Right for my Child? Public Forum February 26th @ 7:00pm Fraserview Elementary More information at: www.mpsd.ca/traditional Solid literacy skills - Effective homework practice - Expecations aligned with family values
Regular skills assesment and feedback to parents
Dress Code - Safe environment - Parents are partners
Consistent structured approach - High goals for academic achievement - Teacher directed instruction