A year after Coquitlam council changed its plans for one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, staff have returned to the drawing board to redesign a key road.
And they say the new east-west collector route through the southern part of Oakdale would not only shift south but it would save the city up to $7 million.
On May 19, city staff will reach out — virtually — to Oakdale property owners, developers, stakeholders and other members of the public to answer questions about the new road network that, if OK’d by council, would eliminate the need for the Kemsley-Jefferson bridge over Harmony Creek, a tributary of Stoney Creek.
According to a report that went before council-in-committee in March, the original Kemsley-Jefferson collector road was flagged as problematic, with developers trying to assemble land telling city staff that they were steering clear of some parcels that included the new street connections and environmental setbacks.
Now, the city is planning to:
- remove the proposed road connection linking Jefferson Avenue to Kemsley Avenue
- extend the new east-west road to Elmwood Street
- realign Gardena Drive from Westley Avenue to Harrison Avenue, linking to a future Bole Court extension
- realign Gardena Drive at Elmwood Street to link to Como Lake Avenue
The moves would allow for larger land assemblies around Harmony Creek, said Andrew Merrill, Coquitlam’s director of development services. As a result, remnant road allowances could be closed and sold during the redevelopment process, for the municipality to pay for the infrastructure.
The difference between the two plans is as follows:
- proposed new road dedication: 15,279 sq. m. (current); 19,313 sq. m. (new)
- remnant road allowance (to be closed): 1,678 sq. m. (current); 8,212 sq. m. (new)
- net new road area: 13,602 sq. m. (current); 11,100 sq. m. (new)
- Kemsley-Jefferson bridge: $7 million (current); nil (new)
Jim McIntyre, Coquitlam’s general manager of planning and development, said the original plans were part of a high-level study and “while we try to provide clear direction through our plans, we need to come back with refinements over time.”
And because of the number of concerns, over the past year, from the building and real estate industries about Oakdale’s redevelopment — a neighbourhood located northwest of the Burquitlam SkyTrain station that borders the cities of Port Moody and Burnaby — “we quickly realized we had a problem on our hands.”
Merrill also cited a 70-year-old document from the Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board (now Metro Vancouver) that showed similar challenges back then with subdividing Oakdale lots if a new east-west road were built in the area.
Meanwhile, some councillors called on city staff to design the Kemsley-Elmwood connector with traffic calming measures to prevent motorists from rat-running.
A report on the public consultation is due before council this summer.
• The online information session is on May 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. To register, go to coquitlam.ca/oakdale. Alternatively, complete the survey by June 4 via letstalkcoquitlam.ca/oakdale to have your say.
