Wednesday - May 8, 2024 - Langley picks parks for daycares

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– Tyler

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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

What the Americans want to know about the future of the Nooksack

The Nooksack River’s threat to Canada will increase dramatically over the coming decades, but thousands of farmers and residents in the United States could be even more at risk.

Earlier this spring, The Current reported on new research that suggests that the flood risk on the troublesome river will rise dramatically over the 21st century. (Read that story here.) But while our story was focused on the potential impacts in Canada, Americans south of the border also took notice.

Although the river can threaten Canada during exceptionally high water events, those floods are relatively rare compared to damaging inundations that never cross the border. The new research suggests those events will become more frequent as the climate warms and more precipitation falls as rain, rather than snow.

• Tyler recently spoke about the Nooksack with Dillon Honcoop, a Washington-based farming advocate who hosts a weekly radio show on a Bellingham station. Listen to their conversation about the river’s potential impact in Washington State here.

• In the coming days, we’ll have a new update on the state of discussions between governments and river officials on both sides of the 49th Parallel.

Related

Need to Know

🦋 The Vancouver Zoo in Aldergrove is raising butterflies to be released to the wild [Langley Advance Times]

🚜 A Chilliwack farmer discovered his tractor had been stolen when he passed it on the road [Chilliwack RCMP]

👉 A report by former Abbotsford mayor Henry Braun led Kamloops council to call for the resignation of its mayor; Braun had been called in to help Kamloops council fix its dysfunction [Castanet]

🚜 A 1.7-acre industrial site in Abbotsford sold for nearly $12 million and will be home to a equipment supplier [Western Investor]

🚲 A second-hand bike shop in Chilliwack is looking for a new location [Fraser Valley Today]

🏒 The former president of the Chilliwack Chiefs is being inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame [Chilliwack Progress]

🌲 A new online map allows residents to see proposed timber cutblocks in their area [Castanet] / You can see the map here [BC Government]

🚌 Chilliwack will be getting electric buses next year [BC Transit]

🏡 One of the homes in the Hometown Heroes Lottery is located in Langley [Langley Advance Times]

🚔 Police are still investigating the theft of a cable that left the Fraser Canyon without power or communications for three days [Hope Standard]

🥽 Hope is handing over the ownership of its community pool to the Fraser Valley Regional District [Fraser Valley Today]

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SPONSORED BY THE CITY OF ABBOTSFORD

Updating Abbotsford's Official Community Plan

The City of Abbotsford is updating their Official Community Plan

The project will strengthen Abbotsford’s plan for growth and development in the coming decades.

Get involved to shape your city! Attend an open house or take the survey from May 11 to June 7.

Full details here.

The Agenda

Township picks parks for new daycare centres

The Township of Langley is taking the first steps to bring nearly 300 childcare spaces to four new facilities in Langley.

Bell Park in Brookswood, Topham Park in Walnut Grove, and Aldergrove Athletic Park in Aldergrove are all greenlit for daycare facilities. Bell Park could see a building with 49 spaces added next to the Brookswood Baptist Church parking lot; Topham Park could also see a 49-space building, while Aldergrove Athletic Park would likely get two facilities with up to 98 spaces.

Yorkson Community Park in Willoughby is also being considered, but the caretaker’s home on site needs to be removed first. With the house removed, that park could accommodate two daycare facilities with a combined 98 spaces.

The township brought forward the idea of turning parks into daycares back in 2023, identifying 13 potential locations. Public engagement showed significant support for adding more daycare spaces in Langley, with eight of the 13 spaces getting a 90% approval rate from surveyed residents.

Council voted for staff to go ahead with applications for the four park locations to the province’s New Spaces Fund, which supports the construction of non-profit daycares. The final design of the childcare facilities, including parking, would be determined if the applications are successful. Staff will be looking at both the YMCA and the township itself as potential operators for the future childcare facilities.

Mayor Eric Woodward declared the Childcare Action Plan, which was implemented in 2021, a “failure.” The Current reported on the plan, and Langley’s idea to swap parks for childcare spaces, back in December of last year.

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📸 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.

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🗓 Things to do

Nature meeting: The Abbotsford Mission Nature Club meets for its monthly meeting today at 7:30pm at the Ravine Park Hatchery at 2395 Crescent Way in Abbotsford. Public welcome.

Chess tournament: The 9th Annual Stan Rogers Memorial Chilliwack Chess Club Open tournament takes place Saturday at the Salvation Army Community Church. Details online.

Mother’s Day sale: The Deroche Farmers Market hosts its annual Mother's Day sale Saturday from 9am until 2pm at the FVRD community centre. Details online.

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

Catch up

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