April 18, 2008
PORT MOODY – City of Port Moody council is pleased with today’s announcement by Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon regarding the Evergreen Line alignment along the Northwest Corridor through Port Moody. The announcement ends years of planning and months of uncertainty about rapid transit service to the Northeast Sector.
“Obviously Port Moody is very pleased with the announcement,” said Acting Mayor Diana Dilworth. “Having the northern alignment confirmed is very positive for our community and its residents who have long been waiting for access to rapid transit. We can now move forward, working to ensure that our conditions and concerns about this route are addressed, the most important being that it is constructed at grade along the CP Rail right-of-way.”
A third key consideration for the route through Port Moody includes a tunnel portal situated north of Clarke Street and east of Barnet Highway. Any other location for the tunnel portal would be seen as overly disruptive to residential neighbourhoods.
Port Moody’s conditions for the alignment through Port Moody were developed through extensive public consultation over a number of years, including a March, 2008 town hall meeting hosted by Council for Port Moody residents and businesses. These conditions include consideration for Port Moody’s unique and vibrant communities, aesthetics, environmental concerns, and economic impact on existing and new businesses. A comprehensive list of conditions were garnered from a number of public input processes and consolidated in a report to council on the alignment on March 5, 2008 [see backgrounder, following].
Rapid transit service to Port Moody has been a key aspect of the city’s planning and densification development over the past 15 years. Compact, high-rise developments such as NewPort Village and Suter Brook were envisioned with the promise that rapid transit would address the transportation requirements of the residents and businesses.
Port Moody – City of the Arts – is home to over 30,000 residents. The vibrant waterfront city values its natural environment and heritage character, embraces sustainability and is committed to community engagement. Founded in 1913, Port Moody’s historical ties to railway and lumber industries have given way to arts and service based businesses. With over one-third its land mass dedicated as parkland, Port Moody is a desirable place to live in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Colleen Rohde, Director of Strategic Planning and Culture, TEL: 604-469-4505, E-MAIL: colleen.rohde@cityofportmoody.com
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BACKGROUNDER:
Port Moody requirements for the design and implementation of the Evergreen ALRT line
- Avoid environmentally sensitive lands (e.g. Miller Park Ravine);
- Be constructed at grade along the southern alignment of the Canadian Pacific Rail Right of Way;
- Avoid impacting significant heritage assets and landscapes which reflect the community’s traditions and past;
- Minimize impacts on existing neighbourhoods;
- Create opportunities for redevelopment;
- Include the modal integration of Coast Mountain Bus service, West Coast Express and rapid transit; and
- Include a station within one block of Queens Street and one station located within close proximity to Moray Street. Each station should include a pedestrian overpass allowing pedestrian connections over the rail line. The two stations must be fully accessible. The western station should be designed in a heritage style and incorporate heritage elements.
- Provide environmental compensation acceptable to MOE and DFO where environmental impacts are unavoidable.
- Respect environmental policies and regulations that are unique to Port Moody such as tree removal, work outside of the bird nesting season, pesticide application, Naturescape policy and all other codes, bylaws and regulations.
- Integration with the existing system means having the ability to travel from Port Moody to Commercial Drive without a transfer.
- It is critical that construction of the Murray Clarke Connector start in 2008 and be completed first.
- Additional costs of integrating the ALRT into the Murray Clarke Connector (MCC), including a longer bridge span for the MCC, additional property acquisition and delay costs are to be considered part of the ALRT project.
- The alignment should cause a minimum of disruption to existing businesses on Clarke Street.
- Traffic is already congested on St. Johns St. and Barnet Hwy, so construction should be planned in a way that maintains the ability acceptable traffic flow.
- The Tunnel’s portal should be east of Barnet Highway and North of Clarke St.
- The guideway should remain at grade or below grade through Port Moody.
- At grade means at or below the existing grade of Clarke Street and at or below the existing grade of Murray Street.
- Efforts should be made to enhance security at every ALRT station.
- TransLink committed to turnstiles during the public consultation and secure stations should be made part of the project’s essential elements.
- The application of best CPTED practices in terms of lighting, visibility, monitoring and physical security are expected.
- Passive security measures must be accompanied by strict policies and appropriate enforcement of all public areas.
- Stations should be small in terms of physical bulk, airy, and they should blend into the character of surrounding buildings.
- All stations in Port Moody should feature public art and reflect the city’s own 1% for art policy (i.e. 1% of the capital value of the buildings and structures should be allocated to public art suitably juried by the city’s public art committee).
- Emphasis should be on integrated public art and landscaping rather than on daring architecture for stations.
- TransLink should explore opportunities to link stations to new development.
- A station is required near the Inlet Centre area to serve high density Newport, Suter Brook and Klahanie developments.
- Consideration should be given to appropriate park & ride; not an excessive number of parking stalls but some should be provided.
- A pedestrian overpass over the CPR right-of-way should be provided at each station, if not already in place.
- There should be some form of compensation for the loss of business opportunities for businesses affected during construction.
- Port Moody residents and businesses need to be given opportunities to comment on the details of the project.
- The City of Port Moody needs to be involved in the planning of community consultation processes.
- This is not an exhaustive list and it should not be misconstrued as the only requirements to be addressed as part of the implementation of this project.
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