Coquitlam residents may want to consider an alternate route if their daily commute takes them along Austin Avenue.
The city is beginning construction today (Feb. 6) on a project that'll see a new 600-metre sidewalk on the north side of the thoroughfare in front of the Vancouver Golf Club.
The first step is to prepare the site for construction and city crews will be looking to remove 32 trees by the end of February as part of the project, which is being funded, in part, by a $500,000 provincial grant.
As a result, westbound traffic will be reduced down to a single lane between Guilby and Walker streets every day for the next month between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Eastbound traffic on Austin Avenue will not be impacted by the sidewalk and multi-use pathway project.
Drivers are regularly travel from Austin Heights to Lougheed Town Centre are being asked to plan extra time, or to find another route altogether.
When finished in the fall, the new north sidewalk is set to be wider for safer connections, will avoid those utility poles and will have "many fewer crossings," explained Mark Zaborniak, Coquitlam's design and construction manager, in an earlier statement.
New trees and shrubs are set to be planted once the sidewalk is officially completed.
"This is one of the city's highest-priority sidewalk improvement locations because it is on a busy arterial road connecting Austin Heights to the Lougheed Town Centre," said Zaborniak.
"The sidewalk improvements along Austin Avenue increase pedestrian safety and mobility options."
As well, a multi-use pathway is part of the project which will see a 130-metre extension of the existing paths west of Guilby Street for the benefit of bikes and e-scooters.
Coquitlam engineering and public works department lists the following other improvements included in the Austin Avenue project"
- Retaining walls to mitigate impacts to tree roots
- Hand railings along the retaining walls
- Relocation of the traffic signal controller at the Austin/Guilby intersection
For more information about the new sidewalk and multi-use pathway, you can visit the city's website.
