Port Moody Council is hoping to get more feedback from the public and stakeholders about the controversial proposal to connect the loco Lands in Anmore to the Inlet Centre though Bert Flinn Park.
“I think it’s one of those things that it’s a pretty significant change and people will be concerned about it,” Mayor Mike Clay said. “We just want to make sure that everybody looks and understands what options are out there, if any, and what impact they will have and whether we should be considering any of them or one of them.”
WATCH: A road might run through a popular Port Moody park
Clay said the area is a popular spot for hikers, bikers and dog walkers, but building the road through the park would alleviate traffic congestion. He said this is a big decision for the community.
“What we’re hearing is that people in loco Road are saying, ‘Yeah it’s about time, you guys promised us this in the 1990s,’” Clay said. “And the people up on Heritage Mountain Boulevard are saying, ‘No way no how. We don’t want the highway going through our backyards.’”
Opponents of the new road say there are plenty of options for a new connector that won’t disturb Bert Flinn Park.
- White Rock fatal stabbing suspect and victim may have been in physical altercation: IHIT
- High-profile B.C. sex offender Randall Hopley pleads guilty to 3 charges
- BC Hydro offers free AC units to lower-income, vulnerable customers
- B.C. to ban drug use in all public places in major overhaul of decriminalization
The developer had said in the past that there might be a workaround that could keep dog-walkers and other patrons of the park happy.
But councillor Rob Vagramov says it’s a situation of a “developer versus the people of our city.”
He said people in the loco area want to save the park as much as the community in Heritage Mountain does.
“On the loco corridor, it’s not that they want the park road, it’s that they’re being sold the park road is going to solve their traffic problems, and the bottom line is that it’s not,” Vagramov said.
The plan to create a road through the park was originally presented in June 2016, but council postponed the decision because they debated the idea to remove the future extension of David Avenue through the park in September.
The feedback collected will be presented to council this July.
— With files from Jon Azpiri
Comments