“The downtown businesses have gone through enough, and any further delays are unacceptable. There’s a big, vacant lot right across the street from where the pipes are currently being stored. Why haven’t Metro Vancouver and the City of New Westminster used that space to store the pipes and mitigate the impacts on the downtown”
– Ken Armstrong, NWP mayoral candidate –
New Westminster (February 25, 2022): Ten days have now elapsed since New West Progressives (NWP) mayoral candidate Ken Armstrong called on Metro Vancouver and New Westminster City Council to work together to relocate the disruptive piles of sewer pipes currently being stored on Columbia Street in the downtown. It was ten days ago that Armstrong said “enough is enough” and called for the pipes to be relocated within a week.
Now, ten days later, the pipes are still where they were and there’s been no sign of any movement, despite assurances from a Metro Vancouver spokesperson, who said in an email to The Record on February 18th, that “it’s expected that sliplining will be complete by the end of next week, with all pipes installed and off the roadway.” Given that the pipes remain exactly where they were, that clearly isn’t going to be the case.
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“The downtown businesses have gone through enough, and any further delays are unacceptable. There’s a big, vacant lot right across the street from where the pipes are currently being stored. Why haven’t Metro Vancouver and the City of New Westminster used that space to store the pipes and mitigate the impacts on the downtown,” said Armstrong.
In December 2020, Metro Vancouver repeatedly told New Westminster City Council that they would minimize and mitigate the impact of the sewer project on Columbia Street businesses. At the last City Council meeting, concern was expressed about the ongoing impact on the businesses while City staff advised that the contractors were expected to complete the majority of the pipe liner installation by the weekend of (Feb. 19 – 20).
Ten days ago, Armstrong and the New West Progressives said there was no reason these sewer pipes cannot be gone within seven days and moved to another storage location. At a bare minimum, Armstrong said back then, if it hasn’t already been offered or arranged, Metro Vancouver should be contributing to the Downtown New Westminster BIA if they are not prepared to move the sewer pipes despite an big empty lot sitting right across the street.
“It’s unfortunate Council didn’t push for a better pipe storage location right from the beginning. Council should have been more insistent and sought stronger guarantees from Metro Vancouver to ensure that the impacts to the downtown’s small businesses would be minimized. Why hasn’t the big, vacant lot directly across the street used as a storage location,” said Armstrong.
Armstrong and the New West Progressives have previously stated that, if elected, they would ensure that all major projects such as this Metro Vancouver project would have more favourable terms negotiated in advance, with a clear, set timeline to ensure the least amount of impact as possible to small businesses. If not, financial penalties should perhaps be considered as an incentive to get projects done without delay.
The NWP was formed in the fall of 2017 in an effort to provide independent candidates the opportunity to work in collaboration to help bring balance and a develop a strong vision for the future of our city and school system. NWP is a diverse group of citizens who live, work and invest in our city and are committed to supporting a non-partisan approach to municipal politics. Committed to a core mission and set of values, NWP is a grassroots registered elector organization that is committed to ensuring the voice of average citizens and neighbourhoods is listened to at city hall and the school board.
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For more information:
Kamron Bajwa – 604-537-6955