If you want to get a look at plans for the future Brunette interchange, you’ll have to get out and attend an upcoming open house.
The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure is seeking public input into the future Brunette interchange on Highway 1, a key link between New Westminster and Coquitlam.
“Improving the Brunette overpass is critical for moving people and goods in this area and for emergency vehicles trying to get to and from Royal Columbian Hospital,” states the province’s website. “Currently, this interchange is often a bottleneck on the Highway 1 corridor, especially at peak times. The B.C. government is looking at options to unclog the bottleneck and get traffic moving again.”
Three design options for the future interchange will be presented at upcoming open houses, including a meeting on Thursday, Nov. 3 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Sapperton Pensioners Hall, 318 Keary St.
Mayor Jonathan Cote said the city will consider the issue at the Nov. 7 council meeting and will share some thoughts about the opportunities and concerns related to the project. He said the provincial government and the Ministry of Transportation don’t want to release concept drawings of the options being considered until the open houses.
“I don’t think people are going to be able to fully understand the opportunities, but also the impacts on New Westminster, until they actually start to see some of the drawings,” he told the Record. “We are certainly respecting the Ministry of Transportation and the province in terms of this is their process and their project, but we don’t think we are able to really fully engage in the discussion until the renderings have been made public information and people have an opportunity to look at them.”
Cote “strongly encourages” New Westminster residents to get out and participate in these discussions.
“I think residents will potentially see some options that might provide some relief to some of the transportation challenges we see, but I think there is going to be items in these options that are going to create significant concern for residents,” he said. “I think it’s important for residents across the city, particularly residents in the Sapperton neighbourhood, to pay close attention to this and have a good look. I think their input is definitely going to be important in this process.”
In addition to the Nov. 3 meeting in New West, the province is holding an open house on Wednesday, Nov. 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Maillard Middle School, 1300 Rochester Ave., Coquitlam. A third open house will be held in early December.
“There’s no doubt that the Brunette interchange is a significant bottleneck and is one of our major transportation challenges in the City of New Westminster,” Cote said. “We are definitely taking the approach that this discussion provides an opportunity for us to create something that is better than the existing situation and help alleviate some of the transportation challenges we face here in New Westminster, but also on the Coquitlam side of things.
“We are certainly very happy to be engaged in this discussion and hoping to find a solution, but we also want to caution that we need to protect community livability and the neighbourhoods that will be most impacted by this type of a transportation infrastructure project.”
What are the options? Here are the three choices for Brunette
What could the Brunette interchange look like?
According to the Ministry of Transportation, three options are being presented at the upcoming open houses:
Option A
Brunette interchange with separate municipal connections and United Boulevard. The main crossing of Highway 1 is separated into two corridors – a two-lane corridor for local traffic and a four-lane corridor for regional and provincial traffic.
Option B
Blue Mountain interchange with United Boulevard. This option extends Blue Mountain Street over Highway 1 to United Boulevard, and the interchanges become the main access to Highway 1.
Option C
Blue Mountain interchange with Braid industrial area connector. The direct connection between United Boulevard and Brunette Avenue is replaced by a two-lane connection from Blue Mountain Street to Columbia Street, via a new connector with a two-lane tunnel under the rail lines and the Brunette River.
