After listening to Maple Ridge residents during my run for councillor, I’ve found three topics to be the most pressing:
-traffic congestion/where is the sky train?
-development on sensitive ecosystems
-the lack of shopping options
I agree, and here’s what I’ll do.
If elected I’ll work with the local municipalities of Port Coquitlam and Pitt Meadows to lobby trans link to begin plans for an eastward expansion of the sky train. It’s desperately needed to ease traffic, and to offer further affordable transportation options to our community.
I’ll vote against development along the Alouette river, and consult with local advocacy groups like the Alouette River Management Society and Kanaka Education and Environmental Partnership Society K.E.E.P.S. to address water pollution and threatened aquatic life.
Third, I am fully in support of the planned development of Haney Place Mall. I would like to see it become a hub for downtown shopping and leisure, allowing residents to skip the commute to Coquitlam in order to buy their nessesities. I’ll help speed up this process, and would take public input into figuring out what types of businesses Maple Ridge residents want and need.
Thank you to everyone I’ve had conversations with over the last month. Here’s to many more.