Along the Fraser Being a community is about caring. p6
Learning to remove wrecks safely. p9
THE NEWS
RE Review Tangerine, looking brighter for spring. p27
www.mapleridgenews.com Friday, May 4, 2012 · Serving Maple Ridge & Pitt Meadows · est. 1978 · 604-467-1122 · 50¢
Traffic on toll bridge up 12% by Ph i l M e lnych uk staff reporter The Golden Ears Bridge is doing better, but still not good enough. About 12 per cent more vehicles used the tolled Golden Ears Bridge in the first quarter of this year, says TransLink. The extra 260,000 crossings raised another $750,000 from tolls, compared to the same period of 2011. TransLink has struggled to raise awareness of the Golden Ears and persuade drivers to pay to cross the bridge, which opened in 2009 but has not attracted as much traffic as originally forecast. Nearly 9.8 million vehicles crossed the toll bridge in 2011 – up 12.6 per cent from about 8.7 million in 2010 – but well short of TransLink’s budget target of 10.5 million. The tolls generated $33.7 million in 2011, about $4 million less than projected. See Bridge, p16
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Haisla artist Haisla artist Lyle Wilson is opening a show at the Maple Ridge Art Gallery on Saturday called Paint. Forty paintings, on both wood and paper, adorn the gallery walls, encompassing 20 years of Wilson’s work. Wilson’s art incorporates traditional Haisla form and narrative themes. The largest population of Haisla people, around 700, is at Kitamaat Village, at the head of the Douglas Channel on the north coast of British Columbia. A public reception for the show will be held between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. at the gallery. The show will run until July 28.
Pitt holds off on RCMP contract Mayor says more information is needed by M o n i s h a M a r t i n s staff reporter The City of Pitt Meadows is holding off on signing a new RCMP contract until more details are available. B.C. cities are under pressure to sign the document, which renews the Mounties for another 20 years. They have been given a one-month deadline extension,
until May 31, to make up their minds. Pitt Meadows Mayor Deb Walters, though, is quick to clarify that the delay does not mean the city is unhappy with the RCMP. “We have a very unique relationship with our RCMP in Ridge Meadows,” said Walters. “We emphasized that to the RCMP, but we would like to have some of the answers. We are not doing due diligence if we sign off and don’t have all the information. We owe that to our citizens.” While Surrey – the biggest detachment in Canada – has already
signed, many other municipalities held off after it was revealed newly approved pay hikes for Mounties go beyond what the federal g ove r n m e n t had fore- Walters warned cities about last year. There are also concerns about more than the pay hikes, which
Index
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give the RCMP an extra 5.25 per cent over three years. One issue involves an interpretation document that is to accompany the actual contract and would guide how it is interpreted. Other concerns include severance pay requirements for cities and who is bearing the capital costs of the RCMP’s new E Division headquarters at Green Timbers in Surrey. “There are a lot of other companion documents,” said Walters, noting that council has yet to see them. See RCMP, p14
Opinion Along the Fraser Acts of Faith Parenting Real Estate Review Business Scoreboard
6 6 18 19 27 43 49
Maple Ridge goalie taken in second round of WHL bantam draft. See story, p47
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