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Open house for Ioco Lands connector route

Port Moody residents will get a chance to provide feedback on several potential route options to connect the Ioco lands to Inlet Centre at an open house later this month.
Peter Busby
Architect Peter Busby, who's now in charge of planning the new Ioco Lands development, takes in the view across Burrard Inlet from the property's waterfront. The city of Port Moody is holding an open house on May 28 to present possible routes for a connector route to the area if the development of the site proceeds.

Port Moody residents will get a chance to provide feedback on several potential route options to connect the Ioco lands to Inlet Centre at an open house later this month.

Such a connection could be required to relieve traffic congestion along Ioco Road when the 250-acre site, which includes the former Ioco townsite, is rezoned for development.

Brilliant Circle Group acquired the property from Imperial Oil in 2015 and is proposing the construction of a neighbourhood comprised of residential and commercial development that would preserve some of the site’s ties to its heritage as a home for employees of the nearby oil refinery as well as improve access to the waterfront, possibly including a new ferry service across Moody Inlet to Rocky Point Park.

But a boat wouldn’t come close to relieving the access demands for the new community, so an old right-of-way extending David Avenue westward that had been a part of Port Moody’s official community plan for two decades was dusted off, much to the consternation of some residents who’ve grown to love the green space that was turned into 311-acre Bert Flinn Park in 1999 following a referendum.

In response to their organized protests, Port Moody council directed staff in September 2016, to prepare a technical report that investigates and evaluates all possible connector routes.

And while such efforts have been complicated by the lack of information about the size and scope of Brilliant Circle Group’s development plans for its property, the results of that report will be available for scrutiny at the public meeting.

Since 2015, the company has held three rounds of public consultation on the future of the site, the latest last June. But other than sponsoring an outdoor movie night at the site last September, and a display at Ioco Ghost Town Days later that month, BCG has been quiet ever since.

• Port Moody's open house will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday, May 28 at city hall (100 Newport Dr.).

mbartel@tricitynews.com