West Southlands Residents Association Neighbourhood News May 2022 |
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Finally, after months of rain, the sun comes out and everything is forgotten. We rush outdoors to bask in the warmth of summer rays, seeing our neighbours again, listening for bird songs, and searching for edible mushrooms in the marsh. But don't be fooled, November is not that far away. The downpour earlier this month was a reminder to think about precautions now. This newsletter has tips about contacting the city, news about our new Little Free Library, info about work on the Fraser River south of our neighbourhood, and a "save the date" for our fall meeting. |
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Annual General Meeting A date has been set for our next annual general meeting: 7:00 pm on Tuesday, September 13 at the Musqueam Golf Academy. Please save the date. Come with your ideas about our neighbourhood. We would love to see you there. In the meantime, we hope you have a wonderful summer! |
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The Flooding File & Tips to Alert the City On Sunday, May 15th, our neighbourhood (as well as much of Vancouver) experienced an extreme downpour late in the day. The photo below, courtesy of Dunbar resident Stephanie Bailey, shows the flooding on Dunbar Street. City Streets Department staff were dispatched with a pumping truck to clean out the catch basins on Dunbar Street following this storm. |
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One of our residents asked the workers if they could look at the catch basins in the lane between Dunbar and Alma streets. Unfortunately, this was not on the city work order, however, the supervisor suggested residents call 311 or use the VanConnect app to report flooding. When appropriate, he advised using the phrase: "The water is causing damage to private property". This phrase generates immediate action. For complete instructions on how to report flooding and prepare for extreme weather, check out the links on the West Southlands website |
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Our New Little Free Library |
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Barry Jinks built this very handsome Little Library and mounted it on a pole at the foot of Olympic Street at 46th Ave on April 24. There is a plaque, memorializing an amazing neighbourhood advocate, Vivian Bevis, just above the door. The library has three levels: the top for Grownup books; the second for Kids books; and the bottom for poo bags for neighbourhood pups (just in case their owners forgot to pack their own). We hope you will take a book and donate a book. And refill the dog bags if you have extra. |
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Exploratory work on the Fraser River begins this summer |
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Across the Fraser River from our neighbourhood, the Iona Waste Water Treatment Plant is being upgraded to tertiary treatment. The $10-billion upgrade project includes ecological restoration work. Waste water from Vancouver, Richmond, UBC, and part of Burnaby flows to this plant. As part of the project, geotechnical investigations on the Fraser River are to begin in mid-July. Eight test holes have been identified for investigations between mid-July and mid-October in the waters across from Musqueam lands and the river trail leading to Deering Island. The work has been scheduled to minimize the impact on bird nesting and fish migration. The massive project includes construction of two barge berths on the river. The first slip is to be completed by late 2025. The rendering above, provided by the project team, offers a view from Deering Island of what we can expect. |
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