Editor, The News:
Re: Another twist in the Haney Bypass improvement.
I have been a resident of Maple Ridge for 20 years. My partner and I have seen many changes in that time.
In the last number of years, we have witnessed tremendous growth. The residential construction seems to be in every neighbourhood, such as the recent announcement of 800 new residences at Haney Plaza on Dewdney Trunk Road.
It is an exciting time in our community and I think many residents are looking to our elected municipal and provincial representatives to actively work together to provide the best possible decisions for our beloved community, cohesive and effective leadership for the benefit of our community and the taxpayers.
Living on Carshill Street, my neighbours and myself have been very involved with the city regarding changes to the roads surrounding our properties, specifically River Road.
The traffic in our neighbourhood is to such a volume there are times of day it is virtually impossible to access Lougheed Highway. The traffic is backed up almost to 216th Street.
While commuters continue to use our community to access theirs, and new residents discover the value in making Maple Ridge home, the responsible decisions need to be made now. Taxpayers cannot continue to be expected to pick up the tab for Band-Aid solutions that appear to be made in an effort to get a check mark in the completed column.
Our council is working hard to densify our downtown core and limit sprawl in our community.
We need our roadways to support our community plan while moving commuters through in an efficient way.
In my neighborhood, we have experienced a huge up-tick in commuter traffic trying to move through the area via residential roadways because major arteries quickly end up in the middle of residential areas.
Downsizing the intersection at Lougheed Hwy. and Haney Bypass simply doesn’t make sense. Not to mention the ongoing potential for pedestrian injury. How will the B-Line bus service navigate this corridor?
Having two lanes of traffic move onto the Haney Bypass from Lougheed Hwy. will accomplish absolutely nothing if the province doesn’t first add a second lane below Callaghan Street.
Darrell Pilgrim, with Salvation Army Ridge Meadows Ministries, has stated: “the ministry needs a new location.”
Mayor Nicole Read also said the city initially thought the Salvation Army building would be removed, which would explain why the provincial government spent our tax dollars purchasing the adjacent Catalina Spa building and property, leading taxpayers like myself to conclude a functional intersection would be constructed on our behalf – one that would accommodate our community for years to come; and our community development plan.
Respectfully, our provincial government needs to work with municipalities to get the job done.
Chalet Lane
Maple Ridge