SENIORS GAMES ENDS WITH A SURPLUS
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LIVING IN THE AGE OF MOCKERY
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SPREAD SOME CHRISTMAS CHEER
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WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 12 2012 www.burnabynewsleader.com
Ornament fundraiser is helping military families as their loved one re-adjusts to civilian life. See Page A16
City eyes 2.9% tax hike Covers wage increases, new community centre Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
The SkyTrain station at Metrotown will be undergoing extensive renovations to keep up with passenger demand and improve accessibility.
Metrotown station could close for reno Proponents for design work to show what closure might look like if chosen option Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
A major renovation of the Metrotown SkyTrain station could lead to closure of the busiest station in Burnaby for 15 months, according to a TransLink request for proposals (RFP) for the project. Whether that closure will happen has still not been decided, stressed SkyTrain spokesperson Jennifer Siddon.
The renovation of the station is part of upgrades to seven stations being funded with $124 million from the federal and provincial governments and $29 million from TransLink. Metrotown, along with Main Street-Science World, are sites of the two biggest projects on the list, which also includes work at New Westminster, Scott Road, Commercial-Broadway, Surrey Central and Joyce-Collingwood stations. While construction will start on Main Street station early in the new year, Metrotown is in the conceptual
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design phase, Siddon said. Those two stations have not yet had faregates installed as they will be put in as part of the renovations. Metrotown station has not had any renovations since it was built in 1986, apart from the walkway connecting to Metropolis at Metrotown shopping centre, which didn’t exist when the Expo Line first opened, Siddon said. “When the station itself opened, there was something like only a bowling alley and a department store and some apartments on the other side [in the area].” Today, the station is busy all
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day long and into the evening. It’s now the second-busiest in Metro Vancouver, after CommercialBroadway. “It hasn’t been able to keep up with the growth so it’s time to improve it.” The work at Metrotown will include everything from adding another entry and increasing the size of the platform to replacing one elevator and installation of another, and addressing passenger flows between the station and both the mall and the bus loop.
Regent
Please see CLOSING, A3
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Burnaby taxpayers are looking at a proposed 2.9 per cent property tax increase for 2013, according to the provisional financial plan. The provisional plan outlines the city’s financial direction for the next five years and provides a basis for public consultation on the city’s more detailed budget for the coming year. The plan focuses on “community safety and security, maintaining and improving existing infrastructure for roads and community facilities, and new services such as the opening of the Edmonds Community Centre early in the new year,” said a report from the director of finance. The proposed 2.9 per cent property tax increase is necessary to fund wage increases for civic workers as outlined in their collective agreement, “operational and inflationary increases and new services after budget reductions have been made across programs to minimize the impact on property taxes.” see GARBAGE, A5