Enforcement is being stepped up in Coquitlam for residents who are not properly securing their garbage and other animal attractants.
According to city staff, bears and other wildlife are bulking up for the winter and could be more likely to become habituated to eating garbage. In some instances, animals that become accustomed to wandering into neighbourhoods and feasting on what they find have to be destroyed to protect public safety.
Coquitlam hopes to avoid that outcome by calling on all residents to make sure wildlife can’t get at their food scraps and waste. City regulations state that garbage and green carts can only be left on the curb between 5:30 and 7:30 a.m. on collection day — not the night before. Residents who do not comply with the rules could face a $500 fine under the city’s solid waste bylaw.
For more information about the city’s urban wildlife initiatives, go to www.coquitlam.ca/urbanwildlife or contact engineering customer service at 604-927-3500.
Other Coquitlam news:
BLOOM AWARD
Coquitlam won a Five Bloom Award for its entry in the Communities In Bloom competition, the highest honour a municipality can receive in the contest.
Coquitlam’s entry earned a mark of 88% based on six categories — tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, urban forestry, landscape and floral displays — across municipal, business, residential and community sectors. Judges visited the city for two days in August to conduct their assessment.
According to a city press release, the contest was an opportunity to highlight some of the beautification efforts underway in the municipality. Initiatives launched in 2015 included the Scott Creek Community Garden, Coquitlam in Bloom events at Mackin, Victoria and Como Lake parks, and the Coquitlam Selfie Project. There was also a pop-up beach last summer at Blue Mountain Park.
This was not the first year Coquitlam has participated in the Communities In Bloom competition. The city had an entry in the 1998 and 2002 contests, winning at the provincial level before moving on to national competition.
Another entry will be made for the 2016 event to coincide with the city’s 125th birthday celebrations.
HOCKEY HERE
Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex is the home of the Coquitlam Express and the BCHL hockey club wants everyone to know it.
That was the message from team spokesperson Mark Pettie, who initiated discussions with the city earlier this month to have the club’s logo emblazoned on the building.
“We are just looking for something that tells who we are and identifies the building,” he said during a council-in-committee meeting. “It would help us advertise our brand and make people aware of our team in the community.”
While no decision has been made, city staff said they would look into the potential cost and look of the sign. Several councillors at the meeting also said that other teams that call the facility home, including the Western Lacrosse Association’s Coquitlam Adanacs, should be consulted.
One million people a year walk through the doors of the recreation complex to swim, skate, use the gym or watch sports, according to Pettie. That is a lot of eyes, he added, noting that not everyone is aware there is a BCHL club in Coquitlam.
NEW COMO LAKE PLAYGROUND PONDERED
The playground at Como Lake Park may get an upgrade. Council supported a staff option that would see $200,000 spent on new equipment, site prep, levelling and the addition of fibre mulch playground surfacing. The cost also includes $25,000 for a new retaining wall.
If all the necessary approvals are met, the playground would occupy the same 7,000 sq. ft. area on which it currently sits at the northeast corner of the park.
