🌄 Tiny community, big development

Nov 23, 2022 | Today: 🌦️ High 8C, Low 3C | 7-day forecast

Good Morning, Reader!

As a life-long Taylor Swift fan the last week did not go all too well for me.

Tickets for the American leg of her first tour in five years went on sale last week. My little sister anointed me with the delicate responsibility of finding us seats, so I fearlessly signed up for the gold rush of a pre-sale. But I wasn't one of the lucky ones who got tickets to either of the Seattle shows. General ticket sales were supposed to start Thursday but Ticketmaster cancelled it because they ran out of tickets.

Dates for the international leg of the tour haven't been announced yet. So now, all I can do is cross my fingers and hope that she comes to Vancouver. If not, well, I guess I'll shake it off.

—Grace Giesbrecht, reporter

A proposed development on the site of a current gravel quarry could dramatically boost the population of Lake Errock. 📸 HarrisonRise.com

A Lake Errock gravel pit may become the site of a new subdivision that would dramatically swell the tiny community’s population.

For a community the size of Lake Errock, the proposed project could have a huge effect. In the 1,200-resident community midway between Agassiz and Mission, the 300-unit project would dramatically increase the supply of housing. It could boost the local population by as much as 50%.

Today, Tyler writes about plans for hundreds of new homes in the outlying community.

Related story: Cooper farm development given green light, despite estate’s concern

Need to know

🚒 Families in an Abbotsford apartment building couldn't return to their homes last night after a fire [City of Abbotsford/Twitter]

🛶 Douglas Day, the anniversary of Fort Langley's founding, was celebrated with in-person ceremonies for the first time since 2019 [Langley Advance Times]

😭 A popular Abbotsford bookstore will shut its doors for good in January [Abbotsford News]

⚖️ The fate of a man standing trial in Chilliwack hinges on whether or not a weapon was used during the assault [Chilliwack Progress]

🏘️ A 425-unit development is planned near the Langley Events Centre [Langley Advance Times]

🐔 Wild bards are spreading avian flu between Fraser Valley farms; there are 7 local outbreaks [CBC]

🚜 A man who tried to steal farm equipment during last year's floods was sentenced to four months of house arrest in Abbotsford [Abbotsford News]

🎁 A service club is packing gift bags for women experiencing homelessness in Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

❄️ Low visibility and heavy snow are expected on the Coquihalla Highway between Hope and Merritt [CTV]

Abandoned shopping carts can get in the way of both cars and people. 📸 Straight 8 photography/Shutterstock

LABEL YOUR SHOPPING CARTS, COUNCIL TELLS CHILLIWACK BUSINESSES
Businesses in Chilliwack will have to slap their names on their shopping carts and retrieve them when they’re abandoned.

Shopping carts abandoned in public or private spaces are causing problems and costing taxpayers thousands of dollars, the city said.

Carts are unsightly, and often left in places that impede pedestrian or vehicle traffic. They also cost the city considerable money to remove and dispose of when their owners are unknown. At about $50 per cart and 50 or so lost carts each month, the city is spending around $30,000 each year.

Council passed a bylaw that makes abandoned carts the businesses’ responsibility, instead of the city. It applies to any business with over 20 shopping carts inside Chilliwack’s Urban Growth Boundary. If a business fails to comply with the bylaw, it will need to implement a shopping cart management plan (like coin-lock set-ups) and collect their abandoned carts. Fines can be issued for noncompliance.

RESIDENT CONCERN PUTS LARGE MISSION INDUSTRIAL PROJECT ON HOLD
A proposal to build a large new industrial park in north Mission will meet its fate another day.

A public hearing on the proposal Monday lasted more than two hours and involved dozens of speakers. They raised concerns about traffic, environmental impacts, noise pollution, and the effect on the city’s services.

Mission council asked staff for more information on the proposed development, which would see 15 acres on Dewdney Trunk Road designated for "future employment lands."

The developer would also give the city two acres for a future firehall.

Council asked staff for the results of a traffic impact study, and sought more information on an environmental study and the implications on whether the project would reduce the ability to widen Dewdney Trunk Road in the future.

Staff will return to council with a report in the future. They will give a timeline at council’s next meeting.

Post-pandemic transit plans in the valley include new buses and handyDART service expansions. 📸 BC Transit

Those hoping to avoid parking fees and instead catch a city bus to Abbotsford International Airport will be able to do so one day. Just not this year. Or next.

Abbotsford is hoping that such a bus service might be up and running three years from now, in September of 2025. Transit expansions across the province have been delayed by COVID and related drop in ridership.

Now, ridership has returned to pre-COVID levels and the joint Abbotsford/Mission transit body is eyeing a range of expansions. Service to the airport is on that list, but not at its top.

Businesses and travellers have long called for buses to the airport. But COVID travel restrictions, the sporadic nature of flights, and a focus on improving core services have left an airport bus low on the priority list.

In Abbotsford, the first goal is to add handyDART service on Sundays and statutory holidays in January of 2024. In September 2024, the aim is to add three new vehicles to bulk of service in the city core and add service on Gladwin Road. The airport service would follow in 2025.

In Mission, there are also plans to add Sunday and holiday handyDART service. The cities hope to improve service on Sundays by next September.

Several regional and inter-regional buses have offered transportation to and from the airport. But the costs are generally much higher than a city bus fare.

Related story: Date set for Fraser Valley bus-to-SkyTrain connection

Around town

THIS WEEK

🎄Christmas Glow, a series of holiday light displays and activities, opens tomorrow in Langley. Tickets are available online.

📽️ UFV’s Peace and Reconciliation Centre and the Abbotsford Restorative Justice and Advocacy Association are co-hosting a screening of Love in the Time of Fentanyl on Nov. 24 at the Abbotsford campus. More information is available online.

COMING UP

🎞️ The Clarke Theatre in Mission is streaming the Banff Film Festival on Thursday Dec. 1. More information is available online.