A car-share service that’s run for years in Coquitlam and Port Moody wants two on-street parking spots in downtown Port Coquitlam as well.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), the city’s transportation solutions and public works committee will review the plan by Modo Co-operative to expand into the core.
City staff recommend the Modo cars be placed — subject to approval from the Downtown Port Coquitlam Business Improvement Association members — in designated stalls on McAllister Avenue (between Shaughnessy and Maple streets) and on Shaughnessy Street (between Atkins and Kelly avenues).
The aim is to give more transportation options to PoCo residents without a private vehicle; research shows households that use a car-share program can cut up their greenhouse gas emissions for transportation by as much as 30%.
A locally owned member cooperative, Modo has 10 cars in Coquitlam (the city also has three Zipcars) while, in PoMo, Modo has five vehicles parked at Moody Centre station, Klahanie Drive, NewPort and Suterbook villages and city hall.
Modo is also proposing to branch out into other cities this year like Squamish.
Under the program, Modo members pay a small registration fee that allows them to book shared vehicles through an app or by phone, paying an hourly fee for each use. Afterward, they return the vehicle to its original location.
If approved by PoCo city council, city staff say Modo will be charged for each space allocation to cover the cost of producing and installing car-share signs.
In other PoCo news:
FILMING FEES
It’ll soon cost crews more to film T.V. shows and movies in Port Coquitlam.
At next week’s city council meeting, council is expected to boost its levies to pay for higher policing and fire charges and to rent out parking lots and parks.
Currently, PoCo is billling $143 an hour for each Mountie on a film set; however, with the RCMP costs on the rise, the proposed fee will be $153.40. The charge for the use of a fire truck and staff — a captain and three fire-fighters — will also jump from the current $550 per hour to align with its fees.
As well, the city plans to standardize the rental of city parking lots and parks to a flat fee of $500, up from $200 to $500 a day depending on its use.
Still, the $750 film permit fee — double than anywhere in Metro Vancouver — is expected to stay pat, according to a finance and budget committee report.
From 2013 to ’17, the city issued 49 filming permits that brought in $36,000. It also raised $18,400 for the rental of city hall, parking lots and parks space.
NEW BRIDGE
The replacement of the Lougheed Highway bridge in Port Coquitlam may see two more lanes over the Coquitlam River.
According to a report that’s due to go before Wednesday’s transportation solutions and public works committee, the study for the bridge replacement is now done and preliminary designs are starting, for a total cost of $190,000.
The south, steel-truss bridge underwent repairs in 2015 and, at the time, it was recommended for replacement by 2020; the northside concrete twin bridge is set to be replaced in 2024.
Under the proposal, the new single bridge would hold six lanes of traffic including room for a B-Line bus for commuters to get to the Evergreen Extension in Coquitlam.
Funding for the new infrastructure project is being sought from ICBC, TransLink and senior governments.
