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Delivery 604-942-3081 • Friday, July 5, 2013
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Bikes bad for nature?
Wildlife refuge?
Alan James of the Stoney Creek Environment Committee is raising concerns about a July 13 mountainbiking race in the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. He’s worried about eroded sediment from the trails washing into delicate salmon habitat.
City streamkeeper doesn’t think bike race should be held in conservation area Jennifer Moreau staff reporter
A local streamkeeper is raising concerns about an upcoming bike race through the heart of the Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area. Alan James, a longtime member of the Stoney Creek Environment Committee, is worried about the cumulative effects that races like the July 13 “Cardiac Classic XC” have on the trails and delicate salmon habitat. The conservation area is on the east side of the mountain, where the race will take place. “It’s meant to be a wildlife refuge area. It’s not meant to be for commercial, recreational activities, and the headwaters of Stoney Creek, Silver Creek and Eagle Creek are all being crossed by the paths these bikers are going to be running on,” he said. “It’s not just this one event. It’s the cumulative effect of all of these things on the mountain, and I don’t see how … they are going to be able to devise a sustainability strategy for Burnaby and carry on with that activity.” James is mostly concerned that heightened activity in the conservation area leads to erosion of trails and sediment washing into creeks and smothering salmon eggs. As
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a member of the Stoney Creek Environment Committee, James, along with other volunteers, has worked for years to bolster local salmon populations in the creek by monitoring water quality, removing invasive species and releasing tiny salmon into the
water. James is also concerned the race will damage vegetation along the trails and disturb wildlife. “This one race by itself probably isn’t going to do a tremendous amount of visible
damage at this one time, but this kind of race over and over again over a long period of time is going to do damage,” he said. In a promotional description of the race, Bike race Page 5
Burnaby seniors want wheelchair fees scrapped Jennifer Moreau staff reporter
A group of Burnaby seniors is upset about the provincial government’s plan to charge user fees for wheelchairs in residential care homes. Voices of Burnaby Seniors
is writing the Fraser Health Authority and Health Minister Terry Lake, asking to scrap the fees and adequately fund the health-care system, so that costs are not downloaded onto seniors. “We feel this nickel-and-diming people who are poor in order to meet the budget is just not
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right. It’s the wrong way to go,” said Elsie Dean, a member of the group. Dean is hoping the government will reverse its decision to charge for wheelchair use. According to Dean, seniors often pay 80 per cent of their income to stay in residential care
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and are left with about $200 per month. The policy, effective Sept. 1, will costs seniors $300 per year, at a rate of $25 per month. The fees are meant to cover wheelchair maintenance costs for public care facilities. On May 31, the health authority sent a letter to “clients,” stating
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that those needing wheelchairs would have to rent or buy them, and if they can’t afford that, they can pay the $25 monthly fee to use a Fraser Health wheelchair. If that’s too costly, seniors who can demonstrate financial hardship can have the $25 fee waived. jmoreau@burnabynow.com
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