New Westminster (August 29, 2022): Increasing more access points to the city’s waterfront and rebuilding the burned section of Pier Park are two commitments released today by mayoral candidate Ken Armstrong and city council candidate Karima Budhwani. This forms part of the New West Progressives’ (NWP) 2022 campaign platform which will be released in its entirety next month.
As a means to encourage more ‘eyes on the street’, the NWP have also pledged to waive, once per year, the permit fees for neighbourhoods seeking to organize a street party or gathering. The current fees are $38.25 for a block party and $155 for a street festival.
“As we come out of COVID, we need to do everything we can to encourage people to organize street festivals and block parties to encourage more social interaction again,” says Armstrong. “We have to stop nickeling and diming our citizens when they are putting in countless volunteer hours to get these community events organized.”
The NWP is also committed to significantly increasing the number of approved patios and patio spaces in our major commercial districts over the next four years. Efforts will be made to fast-track permit approval processes and find ways to ‘say yes’ when it comes to patio applications from our local businesses.
“We continually hear from local businesses that they’d love to put a patio out in front of their establishment, but the red tape, cost and bureaucracy involved in getting it open can often make it not worth their time,” says Budhwani. “As a city council, we should be telling everyone who has the opportunity to open a patio that they will be supported 100% in making this happen and the process will be easier to navigate.”
The NWP commits to develop, in consultation with local residents, businesses, Tourism New Westminster, and the Port Authority, a Waterfront Access Strategy. The strategy will seek ways to dramatically improve public access to the Fraser River, including the development of permanent moorage for pleasure craft who wish to make the Royal City a destination of choice. In addition, public input will be sought to find better ways of connecting the Quayside boardwalk with Columbia Street in an effort to encourage more foot traffic downtown.
NWP mayoral and council candidates continues to share many of their policy ideas aimed to address the concerns and ideas they have heard from New Westminster residents and businesses, leading up to the unveiling of the NWP’s 2022 campaign platform next month. Follow all campaign announcements at nwprogressives.ca/platform.