Budget 2023

Hi there and thanks for this question. The Northyards neighbourhood park at the end of No Name Road is proposed to be located at the end of No Name Road between the end of the road and the dike. The budget includes funds for design in 2023. The design process will determine the best location for the park and review environmental factors, park size, access, as well as site considerations and constraints. The design will preserve healthy trees where possible. 

The 2012 Parks & Recreation Master Plan identified the area as being underserved in walkable neighbourhood parks. Since that time, residential density has increased in the area, strengthening the need for a neighbourhood park. 

The play area and garden off Abbey Lane is a private citizen’s initiative, not a municipal-standard playground.

Hi there and thank you for this question. The District has equipment dedicated to maintaining and clearing snow from active transportation routes, including commuter trails, sidewalks, and safe routes to school. Snow clearing for both roads and active transportation routes is done on a priority basis, starting with primary routes:

Primary (Cleared first):

• Arterial roads, major collector roads, bus routes, police station, fire stations, ambulance stations, hilly areas and school zones.
• Sanding and plowing are carried out on a 24-hour basis during poor conditions
• Once the storm ceases or crews have successfully plowed and sanded/salted first priority routes, second and third priorities will then be addressed.

Some active transportation routes fall into the primary category. The Corridor Trail is one example, as it is commuter route and a safe route to school. Safe routes to school are considered first priority for snow removal. A map showing all of the District’s primary snow clearing routes can be found here (the primary active transportation routes are highlighted in green): https://dos.apps.vertigisstudio.com/web/?app=bc18575fd53e4cf8b5b74690307a124d

Secondary:

• Drainage monitoring and maintenance to prevent flooding.
• Through-roads between the arterial or major collector road grids. Secondary work is performed during scheduled eight-hour shifts.

Remaining Residential Roads:

• Dealt with in a systematic manner starting with the more significant roads and specific problem locations. Third priority work is performed during scheduled eight-hour shifts.

You can learn more about the District’s snow clearing here: https://squamish.ca/our-services/roads-and-drainage/snow-and-ice-control/

You can find some answers to frequently asked snow clearing questions here: https://squamish.ca/our-services/roads-and-drainage/snow-and-ice-control/snow-clearing-faq/

Thank you for this question. Affordable housing is critical to ensure we can maintain a diverse and equitable community. It is important that people of all income levels can continue to live in Squamish. While it takes time to build and secure affordable housing units, this has been a primary focus of the District since 2014.

Squamish Community Housing Society

In December 2021 the District created the Squamish Community Housing Society. The Society will work to increase the supply, availability and access to affordable housing options across the community. It will serve as a single point of access for residents to access non-market and affordable housing rentals, and will work with the District of Squamish, non-profit housing agencies and the community to grow and sustain a diverse range and supply of affordable housing options.

The Squamish Community Housing Society will:

• Establish a single point of contact and waiting list for affordable housing in the community
• Manage affordable housing units that are being provided to the District from new developments as part of rezonings
• Begin development of a new housing project in the community within the next few years

Affordable Housing Units Built or Underway Since 2017:

Since 2017, 309 units of non-market affordable rentals have been built. Non-market rentals are units that are rented below the current market rates for rental housing. There are also 141 units of affordable non-market rentals currently under construction.

The District is also working to increase the supply of rental housing in our community to meet the strong demand for rental housing in town. Since 2017, 40 units of purpose-built rental housing have been built in Squamish. Another 271 units of purpose-built rental housing are currently under construction. 

You can learn more about how the District is working to create more affordable housing here: squamish.ca/yourgovernment/projects-and-initiatives/affordable-housing/

If you would like to speak to Council directly about this, or anything else in the budget, we hope you will drop-in to join us on Tuesday, November 29, anytime between 5-8 p.m. at Brennan Park Recreation Centre. It will be an opportunity to meet the new Mayor and Council in a casual setting and to chat about the budget and our community.

Thank you for your comments and questions. The District is currently doing a Downtown Marine Access Review, which began in early 2022. The project is looking at marine access needs for all marine users in our community. This includes examining boat launching needs and specific infrastructure priorities. When complete, this project will present recommendations about where to locate future boat launching amenities.  

During winter 2022, the District engaged the community to learn more about access needs for all marine users. A summary of ‘what we heard’ from the community is available here. These results were reported to Council in April 2022. Before proposing budget for any specific marine access improvements, the District will first bring a suite of marine access recommendations to Council for review in Spring 2023.

You can learn more about this project on the Downtown Marine Access Review project page.

If you would like to speak to Council directly about this, or anything else in the budget, we hope you will drop-in to join us on Tuesday, November 29, anytime between 5-8 p.m. at Brennan Park Recreation Centre. It will be an opportunity to meet the new Mayor and Council in a casual setting and to chat about the budget and our community.

Thank you for this comment. The District is in conversations with the School District about partnering on a shared facility to determine what might be possible between the two organizations. Your feedback on this topic will be shared with Council as part of the budget conversations. 

If you would like to speak to Council directly about this, or anything else in the budget, we hope you will drop-in to join us on Tuesday November 29, anytime between 5-8 p.m. at Brennan Park Recreation Centre. It will be an opportunity to meet the new Mayor and Council in a casual setting and to chat about the budget and our community.

Hi there, and thanks for this question. The existing pickleball courts at Eaglewind will be decommissioned due to the noise impacts on nearby residents. The new courts will be located within the Brennan Park fields and lands. The proposal is to build 6-8 courts to support the popularity of the sport in our community and provide a permanent home for pickleball players in accordance with the Brennan Park Fields and Land Master Plan. The $320,000 cost will cover estimated project costs of building the new courts, including a playing surface, fencing, line painting and any additional netting required.   

If you would like to speak to Council directly about this, or anything else in the budget, we hope you will drop-in to join us on Tuesday November 29, anytime between 5-8 p.m. at Brennan Park Recreation Centre. It will be an opportunity to meet the new Mayor and Council in a casual setting and to chat about the budget and our community.

Thank you for this question. The $100,000 for covered structures in parks is proposed to be used to create more covered spaces to gather in municipal parks. This could include a number of things to provide shelter from the sun and rain. At this point, no locations have been selected. Your feedback about the Eaglewind dog park being in need of shelter will be shared with Council for their consideration. 

If you would like to speak to Council directly about this or anything else in the budget, we hope you will drop-in to join us on Tuesday November 29, anytime between 5-8 p.m. at Brennan Park Recreation Centre. It will be an opportunity to meet the new Mayor and Council in a casual setting and to chat about the budget and our community.

Hi there and thank you for reaching out with this question. Depot Road is one of the District’s “major collectors in residential areas” and is high on the list for improvements. 

For this type of street, the District would typically consider improvements like sidewalks, improved bike lanes, improved crosswalks and sometimes features that narrow the travel lanes. Traffic calming features like speed humps or chicanes are typically only considered for smaller, lower volume local roads. 

The process for improvements on major collectors, such as Depot Road, typically includes an initial concept design, decisions on funding (prioritization, may include grant applications), inclusion in the District budget and finally detailed design and construction. 

This process occurs over several years. The District hasn’t begun this process yet for Depot Road, but there is budget allocated for a couple of concept designs in 2023. Depot Road is on the list from which the projects will be selected. 

Each year, there are a number of traffic needs to balance in the budget. For active transportation and traffic calming projects, the District typically relies on the Active Transportation Plan, school travel plans, coordination with other capital projects, funding availability (some funding can only fund certain types of projects), input we receive from the public, schools, RCMP and ICBC on problem areas, as well as some consideration for balancing projects across different neighbourhoods.

Your feedback about the need for improvements on Depot Road will be shared with Council for consideration as part of the budget process.

If you would like to speak to Council directly about this, or anything else in the budget, we hope you will drop-in to join us on Tuesday November 29, anytime between 5-8 p.m. at Brennan Park Recreation Centre. It will be an opportunity to meet the new Mayor and Council in a casual setting and to chat about the budget and our community. 

Hi there and thank you for this question. Bailey Street was closed to fulfill a long-standing agreement with CN Railways dating back to 1979 that has allowed the District to use Bailey Street as an emergency access route.

The agreement required that the two rail crossings be gated to allow for emergency traffic only. The condition to gate the railway crossings had not been met since the original agreement was signed. Due to noticeable deterioration of the rail crossings from increased public use, the gates are now required by the historical agreement.

In the event of an emergency, the gates can be opened. All emergency service responders have keys to be able to use the road as needed.

Any future public use of the road would require designing the crossings with CN Railways. An application would then need to be made to Transport Canada for approval as a public crossing.

There would be significant costs to meet Transport Canada standards. This is estimated to be several hundred thousand dollars for basic crossings. The costs escalate substantially if items such as automatic barriers are needed. The District does not consider this a cost-effective solution in the short-term since emergency access is maintained, but this could be considered in the future.

You can learn more about this closure here: https://squamish.ca/yourgovernment/news/statement-closure-of-bailey-street-gravel-road-planned/

A future second entrance to downtown is being planned, which will connect Laurelwood Road via a bridge to Pemberton Avenue. This bridge will provide additional access to downtown, without an at-grade rail crossing. You can learn more about this here: https://squamish.ca/yourgovernment/projects-and-initiatives/second-downtown-entrance/

Hi there and thanks for reaching out to us. Your comments will be shared with Council as they consider the 2023-2027 Five Year Financial Plan. At this time, there are no plans in the budget for additional animal control officers. 

The District is creating designated off-leash areas for dogs in our community. These locations will be a pilot project and follow a phased-in opening. The first off-leash area, Merrill Park in the Garibaldi Highlands, opened earlier this summer. 

The current budget process is considering two additional off-leash areas. One is in Brackendale under the BC Hydro lines. The other is a fenced dog park at Brennan Park. The 2024 budget process will consider a fenced off-leash dog area in John Hunter Park in Valleycliffe.