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- Monday - Feb. 10, 2025 - Harrison to begin work on primary care clinic in April
Monday - Feb. 10, 2025 - Harrison to begin work on primary care clinic in April
Grace Kennedy
February 10, 2025
☀ High 1C
Good morning!
Two weekends ago, I had the pleasure of promenading around Mill Lake for the first time. And it was really nice! Perhaps surprisingly so, given how much back and forth there has been about the future of Mill Lake Park.
I think it’s okay the way it is? The walk was brisk, but a reasonable length. There were cute ducks for us to look at. The boardwalk was cute, and we did not slip on ice.
Abbotsford council has some thoughts about its future though—which you can read all about below.
– Grace
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NEWS
Mill Lake’s boardwalk consternation
Mill Lake Park’s boardwalk could be replaced by a path on the nearby shore. But not everybody loves the idea. 📷 Grace Kennedy
Nearly four years into a planning process that was originally expected to take less than 12 months, the future of the Mill Lake Park boardwalk remains as uncertain as ever.
Sitting at the centre of Abbotsford, just blocks from its downtown and shopping centre, Mill Lake Park is probably the busiest park in the entire Fraser Valley and is frequently called the city’s “jewel” by local politicians. Every day, hundreds of people use a paved loop trail to circumnavigate the lake. The path’s most prominent—and most photographed—feature is a short 150-metre boardwalk at the lake’s eastern end that was built, in part, to complete the trail without intruding on a lakefront townhouse complex.
But the boardwalk, which includes a small bridge, poses accessibility challenges for some people and would be costly to rebuild once it reaches the end of its life. And as the city continues work on a new long-term plan for the park, staff have suggested that it might be best to eventually replace the boardwalk with a path on the nearby shore once the development of the townhouse complex makes that possible.
The public, and increasingly some members of council, are less than enthusiastic about the prospect of a lake path with no boardwalk. And the matter is sparking a discussion about what makes one of Abbotsford’s most beloved trails so popular—and about the park’s future itself.
Related
Need to Know
🚨 A pedestrian was killed on a rural Abbotsford road Sunday morning; a driver was arrested for impaired driving [CTV]
🚧 Construction on a new long-term care home to replace Chilliwack’s Bradley Centre is expected to be complete in 2029 [Chilliwack Progress]
👉A huge property on Mission’s waterfront is listed for sale and expected to fetch more than $100 million [Fraser Valley Today]
🎉 Q’aLaTKu7eM Community School, located at the northernmost end of Harrison Lake, is celebrating its very first graduate [Hope Standard]
🏀 The coach of the Columbia Bible College women’s basketball team has been suspended after an investigation into an incident involving a trans athlete on another team [Abbotsford News]
🚑 A women was taken to hospital and a man arrested after an assault in Mission [Mission Record]
⚖ An Abbotsford man has been charged with 21 drug-related offences [Abbotsford News]
🚓 BC’s police watchdog has found that Langley RCMP were not responsible for a fatal crash last year [Langley Advance Times]
🏀 Abbotsford’s Columbia Bible College is no longer hosting basketball tournaments; the change comes after a three-month investigation into an incident between the college’s head coach and a trans athlete [Abbotsford News]
🎙 In a closed door meeting leaked by a hot mic, Trudeau said the US President’s threat to annex Canada ‘is a real thing’ [CBC] / On Sunday, Trump also said he is serious [AP] / He also promised new 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum [CBC]
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The Agenda
Harrison’s new primary care clinic will be in a strip mall on Lillooet Avenue. The interior will include four care rooms, as well as a waiting room, washroom, and office. 📷 Google Maps; Village of Harrison Hot Springs
Harrison to begin work on primary care clinic in April
Harrison Hot Springs will finally get its own health care clinic, with renovations on a downtown building likely to begin in April.
The village has leased a space on Lillooet Avenue—between the Village Pizzeria and the Pho Ho Vietnamese restaurant—and is now looking for a contractor to renovate it. The space, once renovated, will include three offices for receiving patients, an administrative office, a waiting area, and a washroom.
In November, Harrison said Fraser Health had committed to providing primary care at the facility once a week, and could potentially expand to twice a week in the future. The primary care clinic will likely offer family doctor-style services, like managing chronic illnesses and diagnosing injuries, rather than emergency care.
The construction schedule is not set—it will depend on what the successful contractor proposes—but the start date could be as soon as April 1.
Although some Harrison Hot Springs residents have wanted a primary care clinic in the community for years, it has been historically denied. In 2019, the village asked residents if they would shoulder a 1.8% tax increase (or $20.33 for the average $500,000 home) to bring a nurse practitioner to the village once a week. The answer then was no.
The village restarted negotiations with Fraser Health for a clinic last August, and leased the Lillooet Avenue building. Renovations will be funded by the village’s surplus, and are expected to cost no more than $150,000. The four-year-lease is costing the village $3,000 a month.
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🗓 Things to do
Comedy night: The Snowed in Comedy Tour comes to the Chilliwack Cultural Centre on Tuesday. Details and tickets online.
Nature talk: The Abbotsford Mission Nature Club meets at Ravine Park Hatchery on Wednesday at 7:30pm to discuss one member's journey with wolves in Yukon. Details online.
Cheese & wine: Chamberton Estate Winery in Langley hosts a cheese and wine pairing experience for the Valentine's weekend from Friday to Sunday. Tastings are $10 each. Details online.
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