A weekly roundup of noteworthy news in municipalities across B.C.
An annual arts festival expected to attract up to 200,000 people to downtown Victoria won’t be receiving provincial funding this year, leaving its organizer with some difficult cost-cutting decisions. The free Victoria International Buskers Festival takes place July 19 to 28, featuring actors, musicians, dancers and acrobats on outdoor stages on Government and Langley streets.
Kinder Morgan’s TransMountain pipeline has sprung a leak in the area southwest of Merritt, B.C., and the company says the spill has been contained with less than 12 barre—or 2,000 litres of crude oil—spilled.
Downtown Maple Ridge’s east entrance is going to get the same facelift that the west received at 222nd Street a few years ago. Lougheed Highway from 226th to 228th streets will get new sidewalks, street furniture, street lights, road resurfacing and urban landscaping, starting this summer. The cost of the project will be about $1 million.
Many of us have dealt with spotty cellphone service on the North Shore, particularly closer to the mountains. And reception will get worse, says Rogers, as houses are built at higher elevation and an increasing amount of data is consumed. That is unless more towers are built. The mobile service provider is proposing three new towers for West Vancouver along the Upper Levels Highway.
The mayor is thrilled to see Nelson enthusiastically on board with a competition that aims to spruce up downtown with a fresh coat of paint. “Everybody could use a fresh coat of paint,” John Dooley says. “I think it’s important that we try and win this because it could have a big impact on our downtown and give it a bit of a facelift.” The Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce entered the community into the Main Street Matters online contest that started at the beginning of the month.