Skip to content

Maple Ridge wants to hear about Fern Crescent

City seeking input on changes to winding, tree-lined road to Golden Ears park.
9075642_web1_171027-MRN-FernCres_2
The bark on some of the trees is scarred from being sideswiped by passing vehicles. (Tim Fitzgerald/THE NEWS)

The City of Maple Ridge is seeking public feedback as it looks to improve safety along a winding, tree-lined section of Fern Crescent, from the Eagles Hall to 236 Street.

“We will be addressing the safety issues along that stretch of road with the least impact to the tree canopy. We will also be considering the best location for a multi-use pathway, possibly separate from the roadway, to ensure safe passage through the area,” said David Pollock, municipal engineer.

He previously said some of the trees trespass onto the roadway. Their bark is scarred from being sideswiped by passing vehicles.

The section of Fern Cres. was identified for improvements as part of the 2014 Strategic Transportation Plan and Official Community Plan and recently received approval for TransLink funding.

The roadway has seen significant increases in traffic volumes as Golden Ears Provincial Park has become the most visited provincial park in B.C. Over 600,000 people visit the park annually.

“We appreciate the passion that citizens have for this section of road. It serves as a gateway to Golden Ears Provincial Park and the Horse Hamlet of Silver Valley,” said Pollock.

“We will most definitely be consulting the community to ensure that citizens’ feedback is taken into account through the design process prior to commencement of any works.”

A petition has been started to protest the proposed plan to straighten Fern Crescent. Nikki Kroetsch of Maple Ridge started the petition on change.org in response to the announcement by TransLink last week that it will be allocating $609,000 toward the realignment project of the winding, tree-line section of Fern Cres.

The petition had more than 1,800 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon.

As well, a Facebook Group, Silver Valley Neighbourhood, is organizing a rally to protest proposed changes to the road on Sunday.

The event, called “Tell City Hall No to Tree removal and No to straightening Fern Cres..” starts at 12:15 p.m. and is being hosted by the horse clock in dowtown Maple Ridge by Peter Tam, a former Green Party candidate who lives in the area and drives Fern Crescent regularly.

He realizes that Silver Valley development is bringing more traffic to the area, but previously said that making Fern Crescent wider and straighter would only increase the speed of traffic.

“We want the city and the province to invest in a secondary road,” Tam wrote on Facebook. “A straight road up 240th [Street]. That should have be done 20 year ago. Destroying the most beatiful part of Maple Ridge, creating more aggresive traffic in a residential area is not the solution.”

• For more information regarding the Fern Crescent project, contact David Pollock, municipal engineer, by email at dpollock@mapleridge.ca or by phone at 604-467-7496.

9075642_web1_171027-MRN-FernCres_3
Fern Cres. is the only road to Golden Ears Provincial Park, which now sees over 600,000 visitors annually. (Tim Fitzgerald/THE NEWS)