Wednesday - May 15, 2024 - A new plan for a controversial development

🌤 High 22C

Good morning!

While reading Grace’s piece about Chilliwack’s traffic-calming revisit in yesterday’s Agenda section, I clicked on a link and learned that while speed humps were still going to be banned, “traffic buttons” would not. These traffic buttons are little mini-roundabouts, like those found in my old Chilliwack neighbourhood. I was aghast because I had just assumed that city planners would have realized that this intersection design, while effective at slowing traffic, was a nightmare for anyone actually walking on one of the roads. At least they are in my old neighbourhood, where they are placed on roads without sidewalks. If you’re walking near a button—especially if you have a dog or a kid—and see a vehicle approaching the junction, you need to flee onto someone’s yard to let the car navigate the roadway. Traffic-calming is normally a good thing. But a little bit of common sense is required. Hopefully any new buttons come with sidewalks attached.

Thanks to the new members who have become Insiders this week. Being a member means you get access to our entire archive of stories and will never run into a paywall. It also means you pay for (and support) the news you consume. You can join them for $2 a week here.

– Tyler

Support local journalism by supporting The Current. Become a Current Insider member today and help bring local stories to life.

Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

NEWS

The art of being a Fanatic

They are the diehard fans. The ones waving flags and singing songs; those who shape their weekend plans and family moments around watching soccer; those who are with their team through thick and thin.

Across the globe, you can find them packed into the far end of stadiums large and small, standing all game and providing the boisterous community atmosphere for which soccer games are known. (And which has made television shows like Ted Lasso and Welcome to Wrexham global hits.) And last April, you could find them at Willoughby Community Stadium in Langley, hoisting a huge Star Wars-themed banner to a professional team that had never once played an hour of league soccer.

It was a lot of passion for a club that was brand new. So much so that one might wonder: just who are these people who would invest so much passion, time, and energy in support of a brand new team?

But you’d be missing something. Because as much as those supporters were there to cheer on their new team, they were also there to cheer on soccer, Canada, and the notion of fandom itself.

• Today, Tyler writes about the Fraser Valley Fanatics and talks to Zach Meisenheimer about the creative art of being a soccer supporter.

Related

Need to Know

🥚 A thief was caught on camera making off with six extra flats of eggs from a self-serve store [Fraser Valley Today]

🎓 The University of the Fraser Valley officially installed its new chancellor [UFV]

⚖ A prisoner was sentenced for a razor-blade attack on another inmate in an Abbotsford prison [Abbotsford News]

💰 A Langley man won $1 million in the lottery [Langley Advance Times]

🚧 A Chilliwack road was closed when an excavator struck a gas line [Chilliwack Progress]

🖋 Trinity Western University faculty signed their first collective agreement [Langley Advance Times]

👍 A Chilliwack man has been located after being reported missing earlier this week [Chilliwack RCMP]

🐝 A Langley expert says mowing your grass every other week can lead to more dandelions, which is good ‘bee food’ [Aldergrove Star] / You can read our story on a Chilliwack bee-lover here [FVC]

🌌 Scientists say more auroras are likely over the coming months [Nature]

Enjoying our newsletter? Help us make it even better!

Become an Insider member and help keep local journalism and storytelling alive in the Fraser Valley.

SPONSORED BY AQUA AT PLAZA 88

Welcome to AQUA on the water in New West

The modern suites include 8,000 SQFT of amenities, stunning views, easy access to shopping, and the Skytrain all at your doorstep. Life at AQUA is more than just living; it's about being part of a community with Resident events like yoga classes and game nights. Did we mention we are pet-friendly?

The Agenda

New highway development would be denser than rejected plan

After Mission council rejected a Lougheed Highway development last year because it lacked retail spaces, a new plan for an even denser project has been submitted to city hall. But it’s unclear if it will meet a fate similar to its predecessor.

Last spring, council unanimously rejected a plan to construct a 40-unit apartment building and 60-unit townhouse complex near Hatzic Lake. Councillors also took issue with the density of the project.

The new plan would see even more housing, with up to 160 units in a handful of townhomes and three apartment buildings. The apartment buildings would include retail space on the ground floor, satisfying council’s complaint about the lack of commercial space.

Staff had recommended that council give a necessary Official Community Plan amendment first reading in order to kickstart a referral process. But in a rare move, the item was yanked from the agenda for Mission’s council meeting last week. A city spokesperson said it was removed from the agenda at the developer’s request.

Abbotsford school district hires two dozen uncertified teachers

Two dozen uncertified teachers have been filling vacancies in Abbotsford schools since February, according to a staff report presented to Abbotsford’s school board last night.

The teachers were hired to cover instances when certified on-call teachers couldn’t meet the demand for substitutes. The report, from superintendent Sean Nosek, said the uncertified teachers were “ chosen from a pool of 138 candidates and were subsequently provided training to prepare them for supervising students and facilitating classroom instruction.”

Nosek writes that “most, if not all” of the recruits want to become certified. Twenty-eight different teachers have filled in 635 times since February. The feedback, Nosek said, “has been tremendously positive.”

Last year, the Chilliwack School District hired uncertified teachers to watch classes. That move was described by Chilliwack Teachers Association president Danielle Bennett as unprecedented in a large BC district. Bennett said uncertified teachers didn’t have the training “to maintain the education services that our students deserve.”

Share

You can share this newsletter by forwarding it, or by copying and pasting this link—https://fvcurrent.com/p/may-15-2024—in emails or online messages. If someone forwarded it to you, you can subscribe for free here.

Community journalism needs the entire community for it to succeed.

Become a Current member today and join 1,200+ other local supporters who help keep our lights on.

As part of a membership, you get our special weekend roundup of all the things you might’ve missed each week!

📸 Current Cam

Each week we showcase a different photo from across the valley and invite readers to share their best guesses about where it was taken.

Think you know where this week’s Current Cam was taken? Fill out this form.

🗓 Things to do

Heat and smoke talk: Fraser Health will be holding a presentation on heat and wildfire smoke at the Hope Library on Thursday. Details online.

Butterfly release: The City of Langley Library will be releasing Painted Lady butterflies at Douglas Park on Thursday. Butterfly storytime and craft at the library at 10:45am, butterfly release at the park at 11:45am. Details online. 

Glow-in-dark theatre: Dino-light, a glow-in-the-dark theatrical puppet production is at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre Thursday. Tickets online.

Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

Catch up

That’s it!

Thanks for reading Fraser Valley Current today ♥️ 

If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to another local.

And before you go, please let us know:

Help share The Current

Wouldn’t the Fraser Valley be better if more people had access to local, quality news – and didn’t have to rely on social media? Share The Current with your friends and help us build better communities.