A new monitoring station in Sapperton Park will help the region paint a better picture about its air quality.
Metro Vancouver, in partnership with the City of New Westminster, has added a new air-quality monitoring station in Sapperton Park. It’s the 29th permanent station in the Lower Fraser Valley air-quality monitoring network and the first in New West.
“The installation of a new permanent air-quality monitoring station in New Westminster is a great asset for our city and is situated in an ideal location in a busy commercial area close to the hospital, residential homes, schools and a major transportation corridor,” Mayor Jonathan Cote said in a press release. “Additionally, residents will benefit from having access to near real-time air quality information online.”
The pollutants to be monitored at the station include ground-level ozone, nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter, which can be used to calculate an air-quality health index. The data collected at the New Westminster air quality monitoring station is now available online at AirMap.ca.
“Metro Vancouver’s air monitoring network is one of the most comprehensive in the world, “said Greg Moore, chair of the Metro Vancouver board of directors. “The additional data from the New Westminster station will provide us with both measurements of air contaminant levels occurring close to busy New Westminster traffic routes, and a more complete picture of air quality throughout the region.”
A city press release states that the installation of the new station follows an extensive air quality monitoring study conducted by Metro Vancouver in New Westminster in 2009 and 2010, during which time air-quality monitoring equipment was installed at four sites in New West, including the Front Street parkade and Sapperton Park.
The study showed that air quality in New Westminster is not always well represented by existing monitoring network stations and that commuter and commercial traffic has a significant influence on air quality in the city.
“Clean, clear air is one of Metro Vancouver’s greatest attributes as a desirable place to live, work and play,” Moore said in a press release. “By adding another air-quality monitoring station to this important network, Metro Vancouver and our partners demonstrate a commitment to continuously improving the regional air quality.”
Jennifer Lukianchuk, the city’s environmental coordinator, said the station will be located in the storage area of the washroom building in Sapperton Park, but park goers may see some new weather station instruments or antennas around the building. Metro Vancouver has set up a monitoring station in Sapperton Park
