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LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS
THURSDAY JANUARY 4, 2018
Y O U R
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N E W S P A P E R
THE CHANGING CITY
Two can fit in one City resident says NewWest needs to update its parking regulations for motorcycles By Theresa McManus
tmcmanus@newwestrecord.ca
A New West man wants the city to do more to accommodate motorcycles on city streets. While parking at the New Westminster Public Library’s lot in the summer, Quayside resident Joe Hargitt received a parking ticket for parking in a large turnaround space at the end of the lot. Hargitt has since paid his $50 ticket, but the experience got him thinking about motorcycle parking provisions in New Westminster. “I’d like to see New West just kind of catch up to where everybody else is, in other words allow more than one motorcycle in a parking stall or parking meter. I’d like to see spaces like the one I just described allocated for motorcycles because if there isn’t room for a car, there certainly could be room for a motorcycle,” he said. “There’s lots of small spaces that they could make available.” Hargitt said the City of Vancouver has created on-street parking spots that are specifically designated for motorcycles. He believes there’s room for New Westminster to create a motorcycle parking spot in the li-
TWO WHEELING: New West resident Joe Hargitt wants the City of New Westminster to do more to accommodate motorcycles by creating more parking spots designated for motorcycles. The City of Vancouver has more than 200 parking spaces, including 100-plus metered spaces, specifically designated for motorcycles and scooters only, and has a reduced parking rate for motorcycle meter space. PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER brary’s parking lot and feels more spaces should be provided around the city. During a recent visit to the public library, Hargitt parked his motorcycle in one of its parking spots. “A car came into the lot while we were there and my motorcycle took up a whole
stall.The lot was full, and he had to leave the parking lot,” he said. “Again, if there were smaller spots available, it would free up stalls for cars.” Hargitt would like the City of New Westminster to “embrace the motorcycle” and become a destination for motorcyclists,
as many cities throughout North America have done, as it results in more customers for restaurants, pubs, hotels and other small businesses. Continued on page 5
Property assessments up nearly 13 per cent tverenca@newwestrecord.ca
Besides unwanted credit card bills, property assessments will also be arriving in the mail this month. On Tuesday, B.C. Assessment
released the updated market value of more than 522,000 properties in the Greater Vancouver region. Each notice reflects the value as of July 1, 2017. “This year, the single-family market is much more stable,” said acting assessor Paul Borgo. “The
condominium market is strong again as it was last year.” The top valued home in New Westminster is at 122 Third Ave., at $2,751,000, followed by 101 College Ct. ($2,721,000) and 218 Regina St. ($2,717,000). The most expensive condo in
the Royal City is a penthouse at 200 Nelson’s Cres. valued at $2,254,000. According to B.C. Assessment, the average change in residential property value in New West is 12.83 per cent, when comparing 2018 to 2017.
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Assessments can be lower or higher depending on where you live. For example, a single-family home in Queen’s Park from the 1910s will see no increase, while a single-family home built in the 1960s in Sapperton will see Continued on page 9
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