Restoring creek at Spanish Banks beach would affect parking spaces and dog park, says new report
The Park Board is set to vote on whether to move forward with a project that could see the restoration of a stream near Spanish Banks beach.
A report recommending the restoration of Canyon Creek says the project would mean changes to the city’s third largest off-leash dog area and the removal of nearly three-dozen nearby parking spaces.
The creek is currently covered by a swampy grass field but could soon see the light of day, provided that all stakeholders, including the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, and the province, agree on how to do it. Public consultations would also be required.
Dave Demers, Green Party park board commissioner took to Twitter in support of the project and called it a “rare opportunity.”
Restoring the stream would include replanting native plants in order to create new habitat for birds, aquatic animals and pollinator species, according to a new report prepared by Francisca Olaya, an environmental planner for the city.
“The general concept and goal would daylight the creek to be similar to a stream in as natural state as possible,” it reads.
“The opportunities to daylight streams in Parks are relatively few in the City,” it continues.
But restoring the creek would affect the dog park, parking availability and the bike path, and therefore "comprehensive public engagement" would be needed.
Since the creek currently flows under an area of the off leash dog area, the newly restored creek habitat would be at risk of being damaged by adventurous dogs. Therefore, the report recommends fencing off the creek area. Doing so would reduce the off leash area by about four per cent.
The report also says that daylighting the creek could result in the loss of about 35 of the existing 266 parking stalls that are spread out over several lots, reducing parking spaces by 13 per cent.
The nearby bike path would also need to be diverted, which would solve a current problem of the bike path and pedestrian path being too close together, according to the report.
“The gravel pedestrian and bike paths through the off-leash area run parallel to each other close to the beach,” it reads.
“The existing paths running between the open grass area of the off-leash area and the beach area are currently a conflict zone for cyclists, pedestrians and off leash (dogs).”
There’s also the potential that salmon could eventually use the stream. Spanish Banks Creek, roughly 400 metres east of Canyon Creek, was restored in the late 1990s. The project was finished in 1999, and by November 2000, Coho salmon had returned to the stream after 50 years of absence, according to Park Board documents.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.