I set out one recent dark and stormy night to the Harris Barn to take in the open house organized by the municipality to highlight planned infrastructure projects for the next couple of years. The open house covered a wide array of infrastructure works, from sidewalks to the redevelopment of Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall.
Some of the projects, though close to home, I had not heard of before, including improvements to 10A Avenue in Tsawwassen, which will see sidewalks from Bayview Drive to 53A Street. This is a stretch of road where when you're driving westbound you can be blinded by the setting sun during certain times of the year.
10A Avenue gets a fair amount of pedestrian and vehicular traffic as it is an access route to the town centre from the western side of T-Town. Getting pedestrians off the side of the road is a good safety enhancement.
Improvements are also planned for Delta Street in Ladner between 48th Avenue and Chisholm Street. All the trees along this section of the street will have to be removed and, after the sidewalks are redone, the trees will be replaced with ones that have more controlled growth. If you have any thoughts on the Delta Street project, feedback is being taken by the municipality until Dec. 11.
One of the touchier projects this coming year might be the rehabilitation of the iconic old municipal hall, which is currently occupied by the Delta Museum. The building has been faltering for years and needs more than a coat of paint to stay functional.
On a longer term, new proposals are being considered for the Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall. With Tsawwassen Mills and Tsawwassen Commons opening for business over the next year, there might be less call for commercial space in what has been Tsawwassen's core. No doubt we can expect to see more condos where we now see asphalt.
The new Tsawwassen First Nation malls, as all Tsawwassen residents know, are causing major road disruptions at the entrances to Tsawwassen. For most spots where there are intersections with Highway 17, the number of lanes has been increased by at least two. There will be greatly increased numbers of people trying to cross from the south side of Highway 17 to the north side where the malls are located.
The municipality is trying to convince the provincial government that a pedestrian bridge should be constructed at Highway 17 and 52nd Street. Since this is also a major crossing for cyclists heading to Ladner and the rural roads of Delta, an overpass certainly seems warranted. There has not been any commitment from the province as yet.
There were several other projects presented, including the George Massey Tunnel replacement, upgrading Arthur Drive, a new Boundary Bay fire hall, a new pump house on the 12th Avenue dike and redevelopment of the Ladner waterfront. If you are interested in the full list or detail on a specific project, you can find them at delta.ca/openhouse.
Overall, it was an interesting way to spend some time on a rainy weekday evening - they even provided coffee and cookies.
Tom Siba, a 37-year resident of South Delta, is a former publisher of the Delta Optimist.
