Wednesday - November 8, 2023 - Still vulnerable

🌦 High 9C

Good morning!

One of our members ran into traffic chaos a couple weekends ago at the Doobie Brothers concert. He and his wife were unable to access disabled parking and found themselves stuck in traffic for more than an hour. It’s not the first time I’ve heard similar complaints. But I haven’t been to Abbotsford Centre for a while and wonder if they’re representative of the general experience. Given that Abbotsford Centre is a publicly owned facility, it seems appropriate to ask the public.

– 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

How Sumas Prairie remains vulnerable, two years after a disaster

The last two years worth of dike fixes, dredging, and awareness-building may help mitigate damage on Sumas Prairie the next time the Nooksack floods. 

But no one is pretending they are enough to avert another major disaster. Indeed, the scope of the challenge and the practical realities of planning and funding large flood management projects mean that the largest, most-consequential works required to protect the prairie may not be completed for years—or decades.

• Yesterday, we looked at the reasons Sumas Prairie is more prepared for a Nooksack River flood than in 2021.

• Today, we examine the massive vulnerabilities that remain. Tomorrow, we’ll consider the implications of a changing climate and the political obstacles to safeguarding the prairie.

• This work would not be possible without the support of The Current’s Insider members. Insider Members can read the three stories as a single comprehensive piece. Look for the link immediately below this section. You can become a member for just $2/week. New members will find the link in your welcome email.

• Next week we will look at other places that were affected by 2021’s atmospheric rivers, including Hope, Clayburn Village, and the Fraser Canyon.

Related

Need to Know

🛣 Highway 3 remains closed near Keremeos, following a rockslide [Castanet]

⚖ A Chilliwack woman who returned after aiding ISIS fighters in Iraq is a threat to the public, her son says [Global]

🚐 Langley Township’s mayor wants residents and businesses near the Gloucester industrial park to be exempt from Translink taxes if they don’t get bus service [Langley Advance Times]

👉 Abbotsford students enrolled in a private career college’s nursing program have been left unable to complete their education [Abbotsford News]

🐟 BC First Nations is calling for the federal government to outlaw west coast fish farms [APTN]

⚡ A car crash knocked out power to thousands of Langley residents Tuesday [Langley Advance Times]

🖼 A Chilliwack artist designed the artwork for a new song by Snoop Dogg [Abbotsford News]

👉 A star Langley heptathlete will need surgery after an injury at the Pan Am games [Langley Advance Times]

❌ This year’s West Coast Christmas Show at Tradex in Abbotsford has been cancelled [West Coast Christmas Show]

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The Agenda

Baseline Pub gets meeting date with bulldozer

Langley City has awarded a contract to demolish three buildings in the centre of town.

Two of the buildings, which are owned by the city, sit on the same lot as Langley City Hall and the Timms Recreation Centre. One, attached to the library, was a pharmacy. Across the parking lot, a triangular building also slated for demolition was a corner store. On the other side of 56 Ave, the former Baseline Pub is also scheduled for a messy meeting with a bulldozer.

A fourth building—a café on the corner of Glover and the Fraser Highway, across the street from the old pharmacy—was knocked down this fall.

📸 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

Ice Cube: Legendary rapper Ice Cube is performing in Abbotsford next year. Tickets go on sale this week.

Green Burials: Learn about sustainable cemeteries and green burials on Wednesday, Nov. 8 from 1 to 2pm at the Mission Library. Details online.

Blues Jam: The Fraser Valley Blues Society hosts its Friday Night Blues Jam Fridays from 7 to 11pm at the Eagles Hall in Abbotsford. $10 Cover (musicians free). Details online.

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

Catch up

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