February 2017
HUB Tri-Cities Meeting Provisional Minutes
Date/Time: February 7, 2017, 7:00-8:30PM. Location: Coquitlam Public Library, 1169 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam Attendees: Jack, Andrew, Leon, Jason Farmer, Jeff Taylor, Meredith
Update from Jack and Leon regarding Westport Village/ Andres Wines development Jack and Leon attended a meeting with the developers in charge of this project. Apparently the developers and the city are working together and indicated that cyclists will have three options for getting onto the Barnet Highway from Clarke.
- The promised separated lane along Clarke, to be made possible by eliminating the westbound HOV lane
- A route that cuts diagonally across the property
- Another route that goes along Vintner Avenue (basically the old Trans-Canada Trail route.)
* There may be some kind of pedestrian/ bike overpass up to the highway in the works as well. Details to come...
Sapperton Green development This is an interesting and significant project near Braid Station.
- Timeframe ~ 8 years
- Total added population ~ 10-15 000 residents
We noted that between this development and Fraser Mills, up to 20 000 new people are going to be living in that area, the heart of one of the Lower Mainland's most significant Map Gaps. It's going to be very important to keep pressure up to get them connected with the Port Mann Bridge, Lougheed Highway, New West, Mary Hill Bypass, etc.
Update regarding PoCo's plans for connecting with Skytrain Meredith showed us two routes being considered as options by PoCo, one for connecting the Walmart zone with Coquitlam Central and one for connecting Walmart with Lincoln Skytrain station. It is possible that the city will work on both. They seemed like a good start to us, but are very convoluted compared to either Kingsway or Lougheed. There is a City meeting with engineers this week concerning these routes, and HUB should be invited to give feedback later on.
HUB Brunette working group's submission to the MOTI We discussed this submission, and reiterated the importance of getting several connections right. It can't be overstressed how key this area is to regional transportation cycling; there is a lot at stake here. Connections discussed:
- a connection for cyclists across the railroad tracks at Braid Station -- we can't lose this crossing
- a cycling connection along United Boulevard to the Port Mann Bridge
- a connection between Lougheed Highway and Brunette Avenue -- important because of the new grade changes
New Westminster will have $500K available towards a connection,
UnGap the Map update Gaps discussed
- Riverview lands
- Guildford separated lane for school use
- Connection from Argue to Shaughnessy
- asphalt parallel to Mary Hill bypass
- Kingsway in PoCo
- connecting Brunette Avenue with the Fraser Greenway
A recent map gap --- poor or non-existent snow removal Jason let us know that in the recent weeks of snow he has seen important cycling connections abandoned by the organizations that are supposed to be maintaining them. He managed to get some results as an individual through phone calls, social media shaming, etc. Andrew H. will ask Ellie about whether HUB has more top-down recommendations or best practices published that we can direct municipalities and contractors towards.
Poco funding update Meredith let us know that PoCo will have about $150 000 in funding available for cycling projects in 2017, plus the possibility of some matching grants. Andrew showed the group an email from the city of PoCo detailing $20K of spending on new bike racks, and mentioning that $30K more is going to be put towards improving signage and route marking.
TCT25 Great Trail Adventures for 2017 To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Trans-Canada Trail, Trails BC is organizing contests and events involving the TCT.
News from Andrew --- no more Port Moody Transportation Committee Sadly, this committee is being shuttered by the City. There will be some opportunity for HUB members to participate in Committees of the Whole in 2017 starting in September
Our top gaps In no particular order: - United Blvd - Guildford - Kingsway/ Lougheed (basically, a direct and AAA connection from the Pitt River Bridge to Coquitlam Centre) - Riverview lands
All of these gaps are on important regional connection routes that cross jurisdictions and boundaries -- cities, province,, etc. This seems to lead to unfortunate buck-passing and lack of co-operation between the players involved. Leon told us the heartening story of HUB and Richard Campbell's ultimately successful effort to establish the CVG across boundaries and jurisdictions. Our hope is that Vancouver HUB can create some of the same magic with these gaps.
Adjourned at 8:30