Getting to River Market is not only challenging – it can be downright unsafe.
River Market representatives appeared before city council Monday night to outline challenges people are having when trying to access the waterfront, offer ideas to improve the situation and seek the city’s help. The RiverSky project is currently under construction to the west of the market, and site work has begun on the Pier West development to the east of the market.
Jenny Cashin, who owns Mid-Century Modern Home in River Market, said it’s not only hard for people to access the market while construction is underway on neighbouring sites, but it’s also dangerous.
“I see the danger in that area every single day,” she told council. “I cringe. I wait for people to get hit. It is extremely dangerous. The (construction) site keeps expanding. The passage for vehicles keeps shrinking. There aren’t flaggers, hardly ever. It’s not safe.”
River Market’s property manager Salim Hassan and office manager Alice Cavanagh provided the city with some “quick fix ideas” for 2019, including allowing public parking along Quayside Drive (where construction crews currently park), designating stalls on Front Street (behind the Salvation Army Thrift Store) for riverfront visitors and directing developers to move construction crew parking to areas outside the riverfront so shoppers have access to those spots.
“The way the situation is right now is River Market is in the middle – there is construction happening on either end. All modes of transportation are currently being affected. The Q to Q ferry is the only thing that is not affected,” Hassan said. “Many of our shop owners are reporting decreasing sales.”
River Market representatives also presented council with a number of longer term ideas to improve access to the waterfront for the next three years, including working with TransLink to reinstate a bus stop once located by River Market. Other suggestions included: installing better wayfinding signs from downtown to the riverfront; reviewing the downtown parking strategy to incorporate new information about business and resident growth; and making walking access for people with wheelchairs and strollers easier and more comfortable.
While they’re excited about the growth that’s coming to the riverfront district, River Market officials urged the city to help minimize the pain during construction. A recent survey found that many people were frustrated in their attempts to get to the waterfront.
According to River Market, there were 680 public parking spaces around the riverfront in 2011, but that is expected to drop to about 200 by 2022.
New Westminster city council directed staff to explore the ideas put forward by River Market and to refer the presentation to appropriate city committees. Council also directed staff to take immediate action to address the issue where it’s possible.
“We are well aware and concerned, obviously, about some of the immediate construction challenges because the River Market really is going to be surrounded by some rather significant construction projects over a pretty lengthy period of time. One project is coming to completion now but right on the heels of that, another project is starting,” Mayor Jonathan Cote told the Record prior to the meeting. “We think in the long-term, both of those projects are going to be a real positive impact on the River Market, but during construction we fully recognize it’s putting a lot of pressure on the tenants in the River Market. “
