The Editor,
Re: “Walls too tall? That’s concern for projects on Burke Mountain” (The Tri-City News, July 19).
The retaining walls, up to 12 to 14 m high on Burke Mountain, need not be made of bleak, massive concrete lock-blocks.
On the other hand, retaining walls made with bins or cribs planted with zero-scaping shrubs are very attractive.
For over 30 years, an 8 m evergreen macro bin retaining wall with plantings has graced the east approach to the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station in the Grandview cut in Vancouver.
And on a related topic from the same issue (“Burke boom battle: Coq. fires back at PoCo council,” The Tri-City News), regarding the spat with the city of Port Coquitlam over rapid growth on Burke Mountain, Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart remarked: “The borders don’t make a lot of sense. When we are planning things, I contemplate if the borders weren’t there, what would we do? We should be laying out our communities as though the boundaries didn’t exist.”
This is a strong argument for amalgamation of the Tri-Cities.
With a combined population in excess of 225,000, the amalgamated Tri-Cities would have a stronger voice in Metro Vancouver for a fair share of services.
I urge the newly appointed (and local) provincial minister of municipal affairs, Coquitlam-Maillardville MLA Selina Robinson, to appoint a committee to initiate the amalgamation process — including a new name.
Derek Wilson, Port Moody
