The ever-increasing number of commuters going up and down Coquitlam's Burke Mountain is causing plenty of headaches for the city of Port Coquitlam.
And at least one elected official says it's time for the councils in the neighbouring cities to meet face to face to thrash out solutions to ease congestion.
Coun. Brad West, chair of PoCo's transportation solutions and public works committee, told The Tri-City News he plans to bring up the topic at the next committee meeting Nov. 18 to get politicians to find common ground.
"I believe the best solution is throwing people into a room and let them hash it out and see where there are areas of concern and where there are areas of agreement," West told The Tri-City News yesterday. "It's time to move beyond our staff interaction."
West was reacting to the latest letter last week from Coquitlam on the Fremont connector, the controversial north-south route that, when built, will funnel Burke Mountain traffic through PoCo's north side to Lougheed Highway.
In a letter dated Oct. 26, Jozsef Dioszeghy, Coquitlam's general manager of engineering and public works, rejected Port Coquitlam's demand to pay for half — about $25,000 — of the Fremont connector study costs so far.
Earlier this year, Coquitlam has suggested PoCo pay for half — or $15,000 — toward a study to find a suitable link for connector on the Coquitlam side.
West said the stalemate needs to be broken. "The two cities are going to have to sit down together and look at how we move forward on a whole number of transportation issues — not just Fremont but the Lincoln connector, too," he said. "I think as both cities continue to grow, it's only going to become more prominent."
In other Port Coquitlam news:
LIGHT UP
Port Coquitlam city hall will soon be bathed in light to celebrate festive occasions as well as other special events year round.
Last week, the city's smart growth committee approved a heritage alteration permit to place 31 LED lights on the building.
The permit is required as the 101-year-old facility is listed in the city's own heritage resource inventory and changes to it need approval.
Committee chair Coun. Glenn Pollock told The Tri-City News he has been frustrated the city hasn't been able to accommodate requests from the public and non-profit groups to light up the prominent structure.
Coquitlam lights up its fountain at Lafarge Lake for World Mental Health Day, at the request of Port Coquitlam's Carol Todd, the mother of the late Amanda Todd but "we can't do the same," Pollock said.
But with the new lighting system, PoCo city staff can change the city hall colours at the flick of a switch: red, green and white for Christmas; orange for Halloween; and pink for the I Am Someone campaign, for example.
Still, Pollock said because of the high costs, the city will only light up the Shaughnessy Street, McAllister Avenue and Leigh Square facades — not The Outlet side.
In March, council approved $75,000 in the 2015 budget for the decorative lights as part of its one-time enhancements totalling $2.76 million. Funding for those projects will come from the surplus and reserve accounts.
AMBASSADORS
A summer program aimed at cracking down on PoCo home and business owners flouting watering rules is being called a success.
And the city's engineering director is now asking council to double the ambassadors' budget in anticipation of the next hot season.
Last week, Kristen Meersman put in a request for council to set aside $20,000 to hire casual employees for the outreach initiative. In her report, she wrote that 88% of the property owners found violating the Stage 3 water restrictions in August didn't reoffend (155 infractions were recorded, with 17 owners found to have violated a second time).
The ambassadors' push for water conservation meant the municipality had a smaller water bill from Metro Vancouver, she said.
PoCo city council is expected to start budget deliberations in January, with community input planned for February.
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