A Port Moody family is looking for a new place to live because, they say, they no longer feel safe in their Suter Brook Village neighbourhood.
Matthew and Leanne Wilson say their love for the mixed-use environs of condos, townhouses, shops and offices where they’ve lived for five years was shattered Oct. 15 when Leanne was hit by a white van as she crossed Brew Street and Suterbrook Way.
Leanne Wilson, who’s seven months pregnant with the couple’s second child, was walking home from dropping her four-year-old daughter at her daycare when she was hit. She was left with a broken foot and ankle, a puncture to her right leg, as well as tissue and nerve damage.
But more significantly than her physical injuries, Wilson said, is the damage the incident has inflicted on her confidence she can visit the neighbourhood’s coffee shops, restaurants and grocery store.
“It’s been a real struggle,” she said. “I don’t think it’s the right environment.”
“This is not a strip mall,” added Matthew Wilson. “This is a living, working area.”
It’s not the first time Suter Brook traffic concerns have been raised.
During a 2018 public hearing to consider a proposal by Onni Developments to build an additional 26-storey condo tower and six-storey rental building alongside a 26-storey tower that had already been approved for its last parcel of property at Suter Brook, Port Moody council heard several residents express concerns about the increased traffic congestion the project would bring to the compact neighbourhood.
Residents were also worried about inadequate loading facilities for delivery vehicles, garbage bins left along curbs, a lack of parking that causes visitors to circle endlessly looking for a vacant spot and poorly marked crosswalks.
In response, several councillors toured the neighbourhood to see the problems for themselves and the city spent $2,100 to consult with residents about possible solutions.
Some of those included:
- installing new signage and temporary curbing
- making Brew Street one way
- replacing the brick pavers on Suterbrook Way with asphalt
- reconstructing the intersections at Brew and Morrisey streets
- implementing pay parking for surface parking stalls
- improving street lighting
According to a staff report, all the fixes would cost the city almost $500,000 plus another $160,000 to complete traffic pattern changes throughout the neighbourhood if Brew Street was permanently converted to one-way.
Two years later, Wilson said very little has changed. Procedures for garbage collection and delivery trucks have been improved. But, he added, those have been offset by the influx of construction vehicles and workers’ cars as the new towers and rental building go up.
“We’ve seen it progressively get worse,” he said. “People are in such a rush, it’s like Chicken Little out there.”
Wilson suggested even the installation of speed bumps to help slow traffic in the neighbourhood and the painting of proper crosswalks would help.
Coun. Steve Milani, who heads council’s transportation committee, said while some improvements were made based upon the consultation with the neighbourhood, like the implementation of new loading zones, others have been delayed as staff prioritize issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some solutions have been complicated, Milani said, because Brew Street is owned by the developer and the city is working together with Onni to affect changes.
Milani said other changes to make the area safer for pedestrians should be in place by early next year.
Meanwhile, Leanne Wilson continues to struggle with her accident. She needs a wheelchair to get around and the joy of her second pregnancy has been clouded by worry for her baby’s health and anxiety every time she leaves her condo.
“It has turned our life upside down,” she said. “I’ve lost trust that we’ll be safe.”
