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Explore how New West came to be in new museum exhibition

A plan that would have turned Columbia Street into a tunnelled car-only thoroughfare is just one of the tidbits you’ll discover at a new exhibit at the New Westminster Museum.
Planning OCP
City officials and consultants spoke with residents from all corners of the city during the OCP consultation process that lasted about three years. The city will continue to work at implementing aspects of the plan in 2018.

A plan that would have turned Columbia Street into a tunnelled car-only thoroughfare is just one of the tidbits you’ll discover at a new exhibit at the New Westminster Museum.

The Planning in New Westminster exhibit opened earlier this month and runs until Nov. 12 at the Anvil Centre, 777 Columbia St.

“Have you ever wondered when Sapperton, Queensborough and Connaught Heights became part of the city? Or what was on the waterfront before Quay and the boardwalk? Did you know that a 1960s plan would have turned Columbia Street into a tunnelled car-only thoroughfare?” said a press release from the New Westminster Museum and Archives. “A new exhibition at the New Westminster Museum looks at how the city formed, with stunning maps, beautiful archival photos and quirky artefacts.”

Rob McCullough, manager of museums and heritage services, said the exhibition is a must-see as it offers a window into the mind of every politician, planner and engineer to have left their mark on the city for more than 158 years.

“As a city, New Westminster is unique in the Pacific Northwest,” he said in a press release. “It didn’t grow organically. It was planned from its inception and its design, plat and layout are distinctly representative of 19th-century Victorian values. We continue to work with these early design legacies and adapt them for the future prosperity of the city and its residents. This is especially relevant today as our city completes its new official community plan. We hope to help community members understand how New Westminster’s city plans were, and are, developed so that they can take part in civic planning processes.”

In connection with the exhibition, the city has scheduled a series of associated programs. The New Westminster Explorers children’s program, the Working Waterfront walking tour, Geocaching 101 for the whole family and the Future New West cycling tours will tie into the exhibition, with more offerings being planned.

For details, visit www.nwmuseumarchives.ca.