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Letter: Changes around 22nd Street SkyTrain station are long overdue

A former Connaught Heights resident says New Westminster is the “slowest city” in the region when it comes to development.
cityhallstep2023
A former Connaught Heights resident says it's long overdue for the City of New Westminster to encourage change around the 22nd Street SkyTrain station.

Editor,

I'm happy to see an article written about 22nd station. I grew up there at 2109 Marine Way. There used to be a big green space in front of the houses there. I have pictures of it still. Then they replaced it with more lanes for traffic flow. So it went from four to seven lanes.

It got really loud from the heavier traffic, and so much smog and dust started getting into the residents gardens. The city never put up a traffic wall. But if you drive just a bit down to the Burnaby side of Marine Way. The Burnaby city put up a traffic wall for their residents. Also, there is a traffic wall over the Queensborough Bridge for all the new residential areas there. Not to mention, after the city changed the roads it was much harder to drive home. We would have to go from Burnaby or do illegal U-turns at the station or even cross double yellow lines to drive into Mead Street or Marine Way.

There is so much more public indecency around 22nd station, especially on Mead Street. It’s become sketchy for commuters going to and from home from the SkyTrain.

It's definitely not a place for houses anymore. It's a great place for apartments and shops. The apartments would block the noise to the residential homes up the hill, and also there would be beautiful views from the apartments. I can see a lot of young students living there that go to college or university. I would hope the city would put things like banks, medical buildings, and a grocery store there. People in that area drive down to Big Bend Crossing in Burnaby usually.

This is the slowest city in the Lower Mainland when it comes to development. I was so happy when I moved out to Port Moody. That city is amazing. It’s developing so fast. I will even have a grocery store and child care within walking distance in just three years! It takes me just five minutes to drive to another one. The most exciting thing in Connaught Heights area that happened was a 7-Eleven up the hill. And the medical building is deteriorated.


Natalia Cirka