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Extreme heat in the Tri-Cities caused sidewalks to buckle; repairs could take weeks

Prolonged hot weather caused concrete to expand and buckle, according to the city of Coquitlam, crews are out responding to calls now; Port Coquitlam also has reports of buckled sidewalks
Diane Strandberg
Diane Strandberg
Buckled sidewalk
The city of Coquitlam is receiving reports of buckled sidewalks, including this one reported in a Reddit postReddit/u/Tristessa27

It may not have been quite hot enough to fry an egg but sidewalks sure took a beating during this week’s heat wave.

Reports of sidewalks buckling due to heat expansion have cropped up on Twitter and Reddit, with even Port Coquitlam MLA — and B.C.’s Solicitor General — Mike Farnworth posting an image.

“How hot is it in PoCo?” he posted in a tweet last Friday (June 25), “Hot enough to buckle sidewalks.”

In PoCo, sidewalks were buckled in these five spots, with city crews looking to follow up with repairs.

  • Kingsway West of Broadway
  • 3675 Hamilton
  • 575 Dominion (area)
  • 3276 Osborne
  • 3641 Hastings

Meanwhile, in Coquitlam a post on the popular website Reddit also commented on heaving sidewalks.

“It’s been so hot in Coquitlam, the sidewalks are buckling. This happened Sunday. Another has popped up a block away since then,” reported u/Tristessa27.

Many commentators on the post said the angled sidewalk located next to the Dairy Queen on Lougheed Highway — by the Ikea store — looked like a fun slab to skateboard on.

But the city of Coquitlam is warning people not to walk on the broken concrete; city staff have placed cones to alert pedestrians to the danger.

“Our crews are marking the locations with fluorescent paint and safety cones as they are discovered or reported by residents and visitors. Our in-house concrete crew is actively assessing the locations and preparing for replacement as quick as possible,” wrote Inder Tung, Coquitlam’s public works service manager, in an email to the Tri-City News.

Tung said there have been several reports of sidewalks across the city that have heaved as a result of expansion from prolonged hot weather conditions; however, the repairs will take several weeks to complete.  

The public is encouraged to be cautious and report any sidewalk related problems to www.coquitlam.ca using the Service Request Portal or call Coquitlam’s engineering department at 604-927-3500.

In Port Coquitlam, residents and business owners can call the See It? Report It hotline at 604-927-3111 to be directed to the correct city department.

In Port Moody, problems can be reported here: