The trucks still haven’t left Hammond, and residents there have had enough.
Months after Chohan Carriers were ordered to pack up and leave their headquarters on Wharf Street in Maple Ridge, residents are still seeing the company’s massive trucks plowing through their tight streets.
“It’s frustrating,” said Amber Larlee, who lives on Ditton Street. “We’re not feeling safe in our own neighbourhood. They were supposed to be shut down by now. Why are they still running? It makes no sense.”
Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read said the matter is being handled by the city’s legal department.
Because of that, the mayor wouldn’t comment on the status of the conflict.
But, Read added, she’s just as fed up and concerned as the people living in Hammond.
“This is an historic, quiet neighbourhood, and we want to keep it that way,” Read said. “I’ve contacted every person who has been affected by this, and offered my sympathy and vowed to fight this, because this affects all of us.”
Larlee is glad the mayor stepped in and took a personal investment in the neighbourhood’s plight.
“I’m really happy with the way Mayor Read handled this,” she said. “She’s been bullied a lot lately, but she really stepped up and did something here. It’s good to see a mayor actually helping.”
Chohan Carriers were told in March by the city’s bylaw office to leave their Maple Ridge headquarters after repeated complaints from residents about loud, heavy trucks continuously passing through the neighbourhood.
The city also learned the company was operating without a business license. Chohan was denied a license at that time, a decision the company chose not to appeal.
In a release sent out on Monday, the city said the company was given until June 15 to leave, with strict guidelines as to when trucks could operate.
Since reports of trucks moving through the neighbourhood have returned, the city has installed a large concrete barrier near the business, limiting access to Hammond.
A “Do Not Occupy” sign has been posted at the entrance to the building Chohan operates out of, and the road and access to the property have been blocked with concrete barriers.
Larlee said, for now, the move is of little relief to the neighbourhood, because there’s still no certainty the problem is going away yet.
“I can’t feel fully relieved until the trucks are 100 per cent gone,” she said. “I’ll feel better then. But this could easily happen again, either with this company or someone else.
“The city needs to stay on top of it to make sure this doesn’t keep happening. They can’t let this go.”
A representative of Chohan offered no comment.