Several hours of dry weather has downgraded Port Coquitlam from an emergency footing to a regular day, with parks and roads re-opening after rain water receded.
Images of the Traboulay PoCo Trail under the Kingsway Avenue bridge show the route is now dry and the Mary Hill and Fremont on-and-off ramps to the Pitt River Bridge were dry enough to re-open on Monday (Nov. 15).
City crews spent most of yesterday responding to calls and clearing catch basins, trash grates, storm inlets and monitoring pump stations.
They also filled a number of sandbags in case the Coquitlam River flooded its banks, but though the river ran high and fast there was no widespread flooding.
Instead, low-lying areas filled up with pooled rain water such as the Gates Park parking lot, which was closed, and Cedar Drive Elementary, where fields were submerged under water.
Today, Burleigh Street has re-opened, according to a city spokesperson, and trails have re-opened.
At one point yesterday, Bedford Avenue (Kingsway to Chine) was also closed.
Sunny weather has helped to dry up local trails, including the Traboulay PoCo Trail, which was barricaded from pedestrians in several sections.
Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart posted on Facebook a photo showing how water flooded the pedestrian path under the Kingsway Avenue bridge and then cleared away, today, Tuesday.
“Coquitlam River at #poco Kingsway Bridge. What a difference a day makes,” he wrote.
However, Monday was a day to remember as rain waters pummelled the city, closing several trails, sports fields and some roads.
Yesterday, the city kept residents posted throughout the day on social media.
In an email to the Tri-City News, Mayor Brad West said all city resources were deployed and were out dealing with impacts such as clearing catch basins, monitoring storm manholes to ensure Port Coquitlam's drainage system was operating at maximum efficiency and putting barricades in places that needed to be closed off.
He noted that most of the flooding was in the northeast sector of Port Coquitlam, mainly on the north side of the city.
Throughout the day residents posted on Facebook their experience with flooded trails, parking lots, front yards, school fields as well as water cascading from the Mary Hill onramp to the Pitt River Bridge, which was closed for several hours.
