A weekly roundup of noteworthy news in municipalities across B.C.
Peddling residents hoping to see Cadboro Bay Road adopt bike lanes will have to wait a little longer for any official word. Members of the committee of the whole decided to turn the proposition into a public consultation process on Monday, Aug. 12, and took no action on moving forward with the lanes at this time. “We wanted to create a public process to invite input from a variety of groups as well as the public to understand what people would like to see in terms of bike infrastructure,” said Oak Bay Mayor Nils Jensen.
Residents are worried about what will become of the Jericho Lands, now the federal government has approved the sale of the 52-acre green space in one of Canada’s most expensive neighbourhoods. The sprawling property on the west side of Vancouver includes a mix of trees, historic buildings, a military base and childcare facility.
Gibsons’ official community plan (OCP) will be getting an overhaul in the coming year, but director of planning Andre Boel said the changes are not expected to be major ones. In addition to refining the plan and making it more accessible to the public, the review will look at incorporating legislative changes on greenhouse gases and sea level rise.
Nanaimo’s new governance report should be a lesson for all B.C. municipalities grappling with internal conflict, says Lantzville mayor Jack de Jong. The City of Nanaimo recently released the Watson Governance Summary Report, which revealed significant tension, name calling and physical altercations among Nanaimo city council and city staff members have crippled attempts at good governance and could be hurting the city’s ability to make decisions.
The first column for the elevated guideway of the new Evergreen SkyTrain line is in place at the corner of Como Lake Avenue and Clarke Road in Coqutilam. When it’s finished in 2016, the 11-kilometre route will link Burnaby, Port Moody and Coquitlam, connecting at the Millennium Line at Lougheed Town Centre.