A group campaigning to stop a road from being built through Port Moody's Bert Flinn Park is hoping a survey of Ioco Road residents will convince city council of their point of view when the issue is addressed next week at a council meeting.
According to Hunter Madsen of the Save Bert Flinn Park group, it conducted an online survey of residents in the Ioco Road corridor from Aug. 21 to Sept. 5 after leaflets were dropped off at 890 homes. There were 177 qualified responses.
Madsen said results show that 76% of respondents are "highly upset" or "somewhat concerned" about traffic along Ioco Road.
But when it comes to solutions, Madsen said, 54% of respondents said their first or second priority would be to maintain the curent, low-density zoning of the Ioco lands, allowing only single family homes on ample lot sizes. In the next most popular choice, 45% ranked the creation of an alternate route through Anmore, between Anmore between Strong and Sunnyside roads, their first or second priority.
Extending David Avenue through Bert Flinn Park ranked fourth among seven options, with 36% of respondents ranking it as their first or second choice while 30% ranked it as their last choice.
"People are telling the city that the city should be aggressively pursuing other solutions than putting a road through Bert Flinn Park. Bert Flinn Park is at best an option of last resort," Madsen said.
Madsen whose group has been agitating for the removal of the road from city plans with a website, Facebook page and other activities believes extending David Avenue would ruin the park popular with dog-walkers, hikers and cyclists.
Next Tuesday, PoMo council is expected to debate a motion by Coun. Rob Vagramov to remove the David Avenue connector right-of-way from the books and incorporate those 22 acres into the park.
"Are they going to ignore the preference of local residents and barrel ahead with the destruction of Bert Flinn Park in the service of a developer that is doing things that the residents don't want? That is not how I would be governing if I were them," Madsen said.
He said the group plans to be on hand to present the survey's findings during the public comment part of the meeting and will post results Wednesday at www.savebertflinnpark.ca.
