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theotherpress.ca

Urban beach planned for New Westminster

» Expected to be installed at Westminster Pier Park by summer

Angela Espinoza
News Editor
Minews
@theotherpress.ca

 

N“ Westminster residents
can look forward toa
brand new urban beach later
this summer. The beach will
be installed at Westminster
Pier Park, where patrons will
be able to relax in the sand—
minus the water. Inspired by
urban beaches in Paris and
Toronto, the beach will sit

separated from the river below. : general outline of the beach

: to that of the volleyball courts
: added to Westminster Pier

: Park last September. “While

: [the beach] won't necessarily

: be the same configuration...

: the overall area of the beach

: would not be significantly

: smaller than the total area that : :
: we have of those two courts. So ! “STE making the best that they
likely what we’re going to see

: is something that’s spread out
: along the [front] of the site.”

“What’s being proposed
for this site is fairly modest,”
says New Westminster’s
director of parks, culture,
and recreation Dean Gibson.
“The plan also incorporates
permanent umbrellas that are
there to provide some shade...
then we'll likely have rocks
and logs and those sorts of
things... you might typically
have at a beach front setting.
So you have something to
prop yourself up against when
youre sitting in the sand.”

While Gibson stated that
no one person could take
credit for the urban beach
plan, the idea has been rooted
for well over the past year.
“(Throughout] late 2012/[early]
2013, the city held a series of
different public
consultation sessions where
we wanted to start brain-
storming about... temporary or

Westminster Pier Park that we
call the Timber Wharf. There
seemed to be some popularity
around the notion of having
something like a beach, and
some of our council members
were excited about that.

: [It’s] great because I think

: itll be something different

: for New Westminster, par-

: ticularly since we have very
: little beachfront in the city.”

The urban beach is cur-

: rently in the design phase,

: which Gibson adds that when

: completed, the beach will

: immediately go into construc-
: tion. “We have an opportunity
: coming up with the summer

: months, and so our goal is for

: July [or] August to have... that

: beach installed and operable.”

Gibson compared the

Gibson went on to explain

that the beach will be setup

: within a “timber frame retain-
: ing wall” and filled with a

: filtered sand that will “probably :
: be somewhere between eight
: and 16 inches” deep. “This [sand :
: is] super clean and brushes

: off easily, and it’s specifically
: designed for volleyball courts.” ;
: Included as part of the retain-
: ing wall will bea drainage

: system for rain to escape, pre-

: : : : serving the sand’s condition.
interim uses for that portion of:

“In addition to the beach,

there are other things that will
: be going [into] that whole area,” :
: says Gibson. “Some pathways,

: there’s intended to be land-

: scaping... that’II [have] trees in
large planters, benches, picnic

We have an
opportunity com-
ing up with the
summer months,
and so our goal is
for July [or] Au-
gust to have... that
beach installed.

: tables, serving as places for

: people to sit and gather or sit

: and rest. We're also intending

: on introducing... a group fitness
: area. One of the things that we
: learned... last summer, because
: we had several different

: programs downat the site, is

: that there was a significant

: interest in having organized

: group fitness classes. So they

: could out of some of the newer
: areas [with an] all-concrete

: surface. So we're thinking at

: the Timber Warf, we might

: be able to introduce a desig-

: nated group fitness area that

: a) has some shade and b) has

: a... resilient rubber surface,

: which is typical to what you

: might find ona running track
: orin some playgrounds.”

Gibson ended off stating

: that the city recognizes the

: increasing number of young

: adults both moving into and/

: or attending schools in New

: Westminster such as Douglas

: College. Due to the changing

: demographic, more park and

: event areas are intended for the
: city, which Gibson said, “I think
: helps to make our community

: amore complete place in

: which to live, work, and play.”

 

UT

bora

 

New Westminster Pier Park // By PWL Partnership Inc.

 

City council vote denies Vancouver Aquarium ban

» Plebiscite to remove dolphins and whales runs dry

 
 

Angela Espinoza
Fy News Editor
‘ Minews
= - @theotherpress.ca
fter much debate, a May
Vancouver city council

housing whales and dolphins.
The referendum was backed by
Green Party councillor Adriane
Carr and rapidly caught the
public’s attention. Currently the

two beluga whales.
The referendum stemmed

: partially from the belief that

: whales and dolphins kept in

: captivity at the Vancouver

: Aquarium was doing the

: cetaceans more harm than

: good. Another factor was the

: announced expansion back

nine-to-one vote has allowed the : February, with the goal

. . : of increasing the size of the

Vancouver Aquarium to continue : . ; .
: aquarium—including larger

: whale and dolphin pools—by

: 2020. The expansion led some

: to believe that this would mean

: more dolphins and whales would

: : be placed in captivity.
Vancouver Aquarium houses two : P purity,

Pacific white-sided dolphins and the discussion of dolphin and

: whale captivity would be a factor

Initially there was hope that

: during this year’s election in

: November. An online petition
: was circulated to raise awareness. :
: and garnered some attention.

: Had the referendum succeeded,
: the issue would have ultimately
: made it to a public vote in the

: fall.

When asked about the

: issue, Vancouver Mayor Gregor

: Robertson publicly stated

: that while dolphin and whale

: captivity should be phased out

: over time, “I do not however

: support a city-wide referendum
: on the issue, as the ability to

: phase out the holding of whales
: and dolphins in captivity

: is within the Park Board’s
: authority.”

The dolphins and whales

: taken into captivity by the

: Vancouver Aquarium were at

? some point injured in the wild

: or are in rehabilitation. An

: open letter published on the

: Vancouver Aquarium’s website

: on February 20 in response to the
: petition stated that:

“On September 16, 1996,

: Vancouver Aquarium tooka

: leadership role and became the
: first (and only) aquarium in the
: world to make a commitment

: to no longer capture cetaceans

: (whales and dolphins) from

: the wild for display and to only
: care for cetaceans that were

: captured before 1996, cetaceans
: that were already being kept

: ina zoo or aquarium before

: 1996, cetaceans that were born

: ina Zoo or aquarium, [and/or]

: cetaceans that were rescued

: from the wild and rehabilitated,
: but deemed non-releasable by

: the appropriate government

: authorities.”

The aquarium has also

: ceased taking in killer whales

: since 2001, and is one of the still-
: active aquariums taking part

: in programs to breed critically

: endangered species.