THURSDAY, june 20, 2019 Vol. A-75, No. 25
Serving Fort St. John, B.C. and Surrounding Communities
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Grads told to pursue their dreams, work co-operatively matt preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca
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Northern Lights College 2019 Valedictorian Sana Gill gives her address, June 14, 2019.
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Planners unveil re-imagined 100 Street matt preprost editor@ahnfsj.ca
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Urban planners unveiled their ideas for a re-imagined 100 Street through downtown Fort St. John on Saturday, ending a week-long series of public workshops that will set the stage for a major rebuild starting in 2020. Three dozen residents, as well as city councillors and administrators, turned out to the cultural centre to hear from the team at MODUS and Urban Systems. Mayor Lori Ackerman said the concepts come after nearly a decade of work trying to kickstart downtown revitalization, and is a chance to address what developers have been asking for to help facilitate business and investment. “This has not been a, pardon my English, ‘for s**ts and giggles, let’s see what we can do’,” Ackerman said. “This has been a very planned and principled approach to our downtown that is going to create an area that is focused on people. 100th and 100th used to be the highway — stress the ‘used to be the highway.’ It’s not anymore. “We have got what I think is a future for our community,” she said. The city plans to start tearing up 100 Street in phases in 2020 to replace underground utilities that have reached the end of their service life. For the rebuild of the road, planners have designed what they call an “optimized” threelane roadway that will see fewer traffic lanes, expanded multi-use sidewalks, and improved public spaces along a 10-block stretch of the road between 96 and 105 avenues. They have proposed a street that will see two primary travel lanes — one each for north and southbound traffic — two parking lanes on either
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Birds eye view of 100 Street redesign.
side of the street, and a median left-hand turning lane that will also serve as space for snow storage in the winter. The city saw 150 people attend an open house and give input on the project in May, with another 370 residents chiming in through surveys. Planners also held 11 workshops with downtown stakeholders, said Rob Barrs, the principal of MODUS Planning, Design and Engagement. Streets serve two purposes that are in tension with one another, Barr said. One is to move people as a thoroughfare; second, especially in the case of downtowns, is to be a destination and place where people want to go to eat, shop,
and gather, Barrs said. “We have to think of the balance there between the street as a thoroughfare and the street as a destination,” he said. “Allan Jacobs, one of the great urbanists, talks about a great street as a place where everybody can have something, but not everyone can have everything. And so everyone can a little bit of something in this street: It can get you from A to B, it can provide those opportunities to celebrate, to shop, to gather. We’re always balancing those different needs and uses.” See 100 STREET on A3
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The Northern Lights College Class of 2019 donned their gowns for convocation in Fort St. John on Friday. There were 120 students who graduated from the Fort St. John campus this year. Sana Gill, a business management graduate, was the class valedictorian. Gill, an international student, told her peers they should be proud of their educational accomplishments, quoting Kristian Kan, Denzel Washington, and Michael Josephson throughout her address. Keep dreaming and make reality happen, she said. “Back in 2015, while I was pursuing my bachelor of commerce degree at the college, I, like many international students sitting here, was making plans to come to Canada to explore this beautiful country,” Gill said. “During this planning stage, I encountered many people who supported me and just as many who challenged me. However, I strongly believe if you’re focused and determined on what you want in your life, you certainly will get it. This is the reason I’m standing here today in front of you.” Sabrina Benmars was awarded the Governor General’s Academic Medal for graduating with the school’s the highest grade point average at 4.22. Benmars graduated with a diploma in early childhood education and care, acquired online and in French in partnership with College Educacentre. Chief Kwarakwante Chief Calliou was recognized with an honourary associate of arts degree for his contributions to the college and community. Calliou, a former NLC student, is a hereditary chief of Kelly Lake Cree Nation south of Dawson Creek. He maintains his support of the college and is actively involved in campus activities. Calliou said he was honoured to be recognized, and reminded students to work hard and co-operatively with one another in their pursuits outside the classroom. “You will have the opportunity to create stories out of the fabric and fibres that weave us together like a blanket, and they are what people will remember us by when we’re gone,” Calliou told the graduates. Also at the convocation, Mayor Lori Ackerman presented Northern Lights College board chair Tyler Holte with a sign commemorating the name change of the East Bypass Road to Northern Lights Drive.
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