Port Coquitlam council will get a chance to vote on an alignment option for the new Fremont Connector at next week's meeting.
City staff have written a report recommending that the two-lane portion north of Prairie Avenue run parallel to the BC Hydro right of way. On the south side of Prairie, where the road will be four lanes, staff recommends the option that connects Burns Road at Prairie.
According to a staff report, selecting a route option in the area is difficult because "each of the alignments would have significant impacts and no one route is a clearly superior alternative."
For example, one of the options for north of Prairie was following Devon Road. But the report said that alignment was less direct and would have impacts on agricultural land.
The other option on Cedar Drive would be cheaper but would have a dramatic impact on an established neighbourhood and pass through a number of school and park zones.
Laura Lee Richard, the city's director of development services, said if council goes ahead with the staff recommendation, it will have to buy some land to accommodate the route.
But identifying which land will need to be acquired is listed in the "next steps" section of the report and Richard said it is too early to estimate what the property might cost.
Once an alignment option is chosen, the city will also have to go to the Agricultural Land Commission for comments and approval.
