Episode 72: 5th St Boulevard Rewilding, a BridgeNet too far, Lower 12th development, Canucks on Columbia, 3.5% Climate Action Tax

It's been another wild and wacky week in civic politics in New Westminster - and the podcast captures it all!

The discussion starts off with the on again, off again debate regarding the rewilding pilot project on the 5th St boulevard in the lovely Queen's Park neighbourhood. A few months ago the green manicured boulevard was ripped up as part of the City's biodiversity strategy. A number of mature holly trees were also cut down. In its place came a lot of mulch, rose bushes, massive logs, blueberry plants and few smallish trees.

The 'rewilding' and 'naturalizing' pilot project didn't go over that well with the local residents who live adjacent to the boulevard. They raised a stink with city hall and last week the entire mulch field, logs and bushes were removed. Now it appears this will all be replaced with wild grass and flowers - but not if local residents have their way.

Have you heard of BridgeNet? If you live in New West and pay taxes, you own it. A while back a question was asked in Council regarding how long it would take before BridgeNet actually broke even. This week we learned that it will not be until 2038 before BridgeNet breaks even. Should the City even be in the business of running something like BridgeNet?

The infamous 3.5% Climate Action Levy (what many refer to in New West as our own version of the provincial and federal carbon tax) is back up for debate again as part of the 2026 budget. Now that PM Mark Carney and Premier David Eby have abandoned their failed experiments with the consumer carbon tax, will New West finally abandon its Climate Action Levy being charged on every single electrical bill?

Do we need to assess and improve the way we communicate and consult with local residents and businesses in New West? A motion coming to council next month is seeking to do just that.

Canucks on Columbia won't be coming to New West in 2025, but what about next year?

The staff at Metro Vancouver were in the council chambers last week talking about their new Liquid Wastewater Management Plan. Council ended up not endorsing the plan. Has this set a precedent for other cities? Will we ever get answers to why the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant went so much overbudget?

It's a packed podcast! If you enjoy it, be sure to tell your family and friends to follow it too! FTR is available on Spotify, Apple Podcast and all major platforms.