Shoppers to Port Coquitlam's Dominion Triangle will soon have a faster way to reach retailers on each side of the commercial site.
This week, the city announced it had inked a deal with a property owner to link Nicola Avenue from the west side (by Costco) to Fremont Village (by Canadian Tire and Walmart).
Currently, commuters have to use Lougheed Highway to access all the northeast area businesses.
"This road has been a long-time coming," said PoCo Coun. Brad West, chair of the city's smart growth committee. "It's probably one of the top things I hear from residents and it's a source of frustration for a lot of people."
He added, "This is a great way to start off 2016 to deliver on that missing link."
Michael Hind, CEO of the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce, also welcomed the news, stating in a press release the new connector will help to make the Triangle "an active and vibrant commercial hub."
Siu Tse, PoCo's manager of development engineering, said the city hopes to award the construction contract next month for the 120-metre stretch. Work on the two-lane road will likely be done by the end of the year with pre-loading lasting about four months, starting this spring.
The road will be funded out of the city's development cost charge reserve account, at a cost of $630,000.
And it will be built through vacant acreage owned by Jacqui Cohen of the Army and Navy Department Stores and Newton Investments, a public company that manages real estate and of which Cohen is president.
Tse said the Newton Investments, which has been on title since 1996 for the land at 1021 Nicola Ave., hasn't been interested in developing its property until now (the city has yet to receive any rezoning applications) and it's dedicating the road allowance in advance of its bids — at no cost to PoCo taxpayers.
As a result of the road dedication, Newton Investments now has about 4.50 acres left at the site, directly east of Costco.
A call to Newton Investments was not immediately returned.
Meanwhile, Tse said a portion of the road fronting 1032 Nicola Ave. will also be completed; however, the city won't require a road dedication as it was provided 17 years ago.
jwarren@tricitynews.com
