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NewWestRecord.ca
LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS
Y O U R
H O M E T O W N
N E W S P A P E R CITY HALL
Sixth cannabis store in process ’Boro store will go to public hearing Theresa McManus tmcmanus@newwestrecord.ca
NO MORE FROGGER: Residents Alice Millar, Gavin McLeod and Mary Wilson admire the new pedestrian/cyclist overpass at Stewardson Way, while Sheldon Mercade of HUB Cycling passes by. The overpass is ready for use, but some minor work will continue over the next few weeks to fully complete it. PHOTO JENNIFER GAUTHIER
Residents celebrate new overpass Theresa McManus tmcmanus@newwestrecord.ca
West End residents are thrilled they can finally cross Stewardson Way without risking life and limb. The West End Residents’ Association is pleased that the longawaited pedestrian overpass near Grimston Park is nearing completion. Before it opened last weekend, some folks were already checking it out. “Based on the use already, and the people talking to me about that, I think it is going to be really well used,” said Gavin McLeod,
secretary-treasurer of the residents’ association. “The more people that know about it the more use it will get. I think the number of people jaywalking is a small percentage of the people who actually want to use it.” The West End Residents’ Association has been appealing for construction of an overpass to improve the safety of pedestrians and cyclists needing to cross Stewardson Way near the Queensborough Bridge. The group has been concerned about the safety of the people who opt to jaywalk across the several lanes of traffic because
of the lengthy distance they have to walk to get to a crosswalk. “I talked to the people on site. They say they were shocked at how many people were jaywalking, including seniors. The cars are driving around them,” McLeod said. “It’s extremely risky because everybody speeds. There are curves there so there are blind spots. It’s like playing Frogger.” (Frogger is a video game where players had to get frogs to their homes – while crossing a busy road and getting across a river.) In a statement to the Record, B.C. Transportation and Infra-
structure Minister Claire Trevena said the overpass is open to the public, but some minor works are continuing over the next few weeks to fully complete the project. The West End Residents’ Association been seeking a safe crossing of Stewardson Way since the early 2000s. In December 2018, the federal and provincial governments announced construction of a new multi-use Stewardson Way pedestrian/cyclist overpass would soon get underway. Continued on page 8
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A proposed government-run cannabis store at Queensborough Landing will get to go to public hearing after all. On Monday, council gave first and second readings for a zoning amendment bylaw regarding a proposed public cannabis retail store at 805 Boyd St. Council also approved an updated cannabis retail rezoning policy, with changes made to the way the city evaluates government-operated cannabis retail stores. “Staff used the cannabis retail rezoning policy and the cannabis rezoning application evaluation checklist to evaluate the BC Cannabis Stores’ application in the same manner as the private operators, despite the fact that publicly operated BC Cannabis Stores are different in several aspects from private operators,” said a staff report. “The result was that BC Cannabis Stores were at a disadvantage in regard to the checklist when compared to private operators.” Although council supports a mix of private and public stores in New Westminster, it previously decided to support consideration of a private store in Queensborough, instead of a public store, because it had ranked higher on the scoring system. Council also directed staff to proceed with an alternate review process for Continued on page 8
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