Maple Ridge Mayor Dan Ruimy wants to reassure Silver Valley residents that traffic will be part of the equation as city council considers a new development on Fern Crescent.
Council has given first reading to the application for a new building at the corner of Balsam Street and Fern. It across from Maple Ridge Park, and the site would have 33,400 square feet of commercial space on the ground floor, and the four-storey building would have 95 apartments above.
Councillors viewed conceptual drawings that showed a cafe, restaurant, fitness business, market and a pharmacy, and several remarked that the services are much needed in the young residential neighbourhood.
But the overall development proposal has drawn the ire of Silver Valley residents, who complain that increased traffic would be added to an already congested area.
On a neighbourhood Facebook page, residents noted that the area is already clogged on weekday mornings, and all summer long due to traffic heading into Golden Ears Park.
READ ALSO: New businesses, 95 apartments in new Fern Crescent development
For example, one parent posted that travelling two kilometers in the area takes 12 minutes, to take his child to school, which is almost as long as the rest of his commute into Port Coquitlam.
Some Silver Valley residents noted a new elementary school site is to be developed next door to the new building, adding further traffic chaos during the school commute.
Ruimy has heard the complaints, and said residents have voiced the support for commercial space, but they oppose the dense residential development.
Ruimy said city councillors expressed the same concerns about traffic, in some detail, during March 28’s committee meeting, and know it’s an issue for area residents.
“We know there are traffic issues there,” said Ruimy. “I’m concerned about that too.”
Council gave the development first reading, but before it moves to second reading, the builder will need to have a traffic impact assessment done. It will provide important information, said the mayor.
Ruimy said a solution to traffic congestion has been planned in a bridge across the Alouette River to connect Fern Crescent with 240th Street.
He said it’s an important second access to Silver Valley, which would become critical in the event of an emergency in the area.
Combined with widening Abernethy Way, and pushing it through to 240th Street, the bridge is an important piece of infrastructure for commuters, and a potential game changer. Ultimately, Abernethy will be pushed through to 256th Street, opening potential employment lands in a planned industrial park.
He said the bridge is a priority for city council, which has just been in office for about six months, and “ticks boxes” for economic development, transporation and movement of goods.
“It’s not ‘if we do it,’” he said, “We have to do it.”
The key will be soliciting senior government funding to help pay for the project, and he noted such projects are ballooning in cost in the present economic climate.
READ ALSO: City of Maple Ridge plans planting after work along Fern Crescent
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