New Westminster receives ‘fantastic’ response to ’Boro link survey

The City of New Westminster received a “fantastic” response to its survey about a pedestrian/bicycle crossing from the Quayside neighbourhood to Queensborough.

Carolyn Armanini, a planning analyst with the city, said the city received a lot of questionnaires before the Oct. 16 deadline.

“The response from the community has been fantastic,” she wrote in an Oct. 17 email to The Record. “I don’t know exactly how many but at last count it was around 150 (a few more have come in since).”

Staff will be summarizing the responses and presenting the information to council in November.

“We still have to meet with the special services and access committee and Quayside Community Board, which are scheduled for later in the month,” Armanini said. “After the report is taken to council, detailed design work can begin, including refined cost estimates, and starting the permitting process and evaluating funding sources.”

As part of casino negotiations that allowed for expanded gaming in New Westminster, the city negotiated funds known as Development Assistance Compensation – known as DAC funds. The money was earmarked for projects in neighbourhoods in the immediate area of casino operations – the downtown where the Royal City Star riverboat casino got its start, and Queensborough, where it relocated to and operates as Starlight Casino.

The plans currently being explored would include a low-level crossing on or near Southern Railway of B.C.’s existing rail bridge. The railway has indicated it would be able to adapt its operating procedures to allow a low-level crossing that could be closed and available to pedestrians and cyclists.

As part of the consultation process, residents were invited to provide input into two options being explored. Both have a raised causeway from boardwalks on each side of the river leading to a movable centre span, but one option would connect to the existing rail swing bridge and the other option would be a separate “bascule” bridge, or a drawbridge.

A staff report presented to council in June stated that the cost of building a connected bridge is estimated to be about $5 million and the cost of the bascule bridge is about $9.5 million. The city currently has $6.2 million in gaming funds available for the crossing and has until 2017 to use that money to build a crossing.