The City of Pitt Meadows council has set out its priorities for lobbying the provincial government at this September’s UBCM convention, with the Harris Road intersection at the top of the list.
The Union of BC Municipalities offers opportunities for city officials to meet with provincial ministers, and city CAO Mark Roberts set out four they will request an audience with.
The first he listed is Transportation Minister Mike Farnworth, to discuss the Lougheed Highway/Harris Road intersection.
“Traffic and congestion continues to grow, and the needs have exceeded the available capacity,” said Roberts of that junction. “Improvements are critical to ensure safe and efficient access into and through the Pitt Meadows community and enhance the flow of local and regional traffic.”
The city requested a meeting with Farnworth at last year’s UBCM convention, but their request was denied.
The city plans to also request meetings with three other ministers:
• Health Minister Josie Osborne about the limitations of Ridge Meadows Hospital. Roberts cited parking availability, hospital capacity, emergency wait times, physician recruitment challenges for maternity care and other issues.
• Finance Minister Brenda Bailey, about how agricultural communities face financial pressures due to limited taxation from farm land, and other issues.
• Housing Minister Christine Boyle about the lack of consultation with municipalities through regulatory changes. The city has not met the new housing targets set out by the province.
“I think these are excellent, and really drill down to some of our highlighted priorities,” said Mayor Nicole MacDonald, who called the list “some really key goals and objectives.”
Roberts noted that city officials are limited to 15 minutes with each minister. The city will invite representatives of Katzie First Nation to be part of the meetings.