Dear Editor,
I am writing to add context to Neil Corbett’s article, “Maple Ridge residents oppose 124 Avenue expansion,” and to explain more fully the concerns residents have about the proposed four-lane road expansion.
Since 2024, I have been corresponding regularly with city staff about the Abernethy extension, asking when residents would be informed about the plan for extending 124 Avenue east of 232 Street.
I was repeatedly assured that public engagement would be part of this major project. My neighbours have been asking the same questions, yet no consultation has taken place.
The section of 124 Avenue east of 232 Street reflects Maple Ridge’s history and character. At the west end, the area has been developed with subdivisions and hundreds of homes on both sides of the road. From the bottom to just past the top of the hill there are about half a dozen properties before the ALR begins and the properties become more spread out.
This is truly where urban meets rural.
Our road has never had sidewalks and has a ditch along the south side. People from the subdivisions below the hill enjoy walking here with their dogs and children because of the quiet setting and the view and we’re used to walking in the middle of the road.
Now, letters have been sent to neighbours on the north side of the street advising them that the city intends to expropriate four metres, or about 13 feet, of their property beyond the existing right-of-way for a multi-use pathway, losing as much as 2/3’s of their front yards and, in some cases, part or all of their driveways. For one property, the sidewalk will be directly outside the front door (not metres away as mentioned in the article).
The concerns we have raised with city staff include safe access to and from our homes, the need to slow traffic as it enters the residential area, and the cost and rationale for a multi-use pathway that may be underused for many years while having a major impact on residents on the north side of the street as well as the environmental impact on both the extensive presence of wildlife in the area and on the waterways which feed into the Alouette River.
Because the long-term plan is to extend this road to the industrial park at 256 Street, we know it will become heavily used, especially by truck traffic.
Abernethy is already a major truck route, and this expansion would have a significant impact on those of us who currently live along 124 Avenue.
And without implementing a plan to slow down traffic that will have a straight run from 240 Street, we know the road will quickly become a speedway.
We have requested a group meeting with the city, so residents can present our questions together and receive the same information at the same time, rather than meeting one by one and hearing different explanations.
Having lived in Maple Ridge for more than 45 years, I have seen the city too often wait until serious accidents – or even the loss of life – occurs before installing safety measures such as traffic lights and pedestrian crossings.
I have been pleased to see improvements downtown, including more pedestrian-controlled crossings, which have made a real difference for pedestrians. However, it took the death of a resident before a long-requested traffic light was installed at Laity Street and 128 Avenue – by the Patch.
It was many years before traffic lights were added on Abernethy Way, where drivers previously had to navigate dangerous two-way stops. Abernethy and 232 Street was a particularly dangerous intersection especially in the summer with people heading to the parks. After years of drivers and pedestrians taking risks to cross busy 232nd, and with regularly occurring accidents, it took a fatality before a light was installed.
I hope this pattern is not repeated with the expansion of 124 Avenue.
The necessary safety measures for pedestrians, residents turning left into or out of their properties, and the many drivers whose streets connect to 124th should be built in from the beginning—not added only after a life is lost.
Residents are not opposed to thoughtful planning or necessary infrastructure.
We are asking for meaningful consultation, clear answers, and safety measures designed into the project before construction proceeds. A road of this scale will permanently change our neighbourhood, and the people most directly affected deserve to be heard before those decisions are finalized.
Diane Speirs, Maple Ridge