This month’s Green Drinks event in New Westminster (December 1st, Heritage Grill) is going to have a special guest: Eliza Olson, who is President of the Burns Bog Conservation Society.

The BBCS is dedicated to protecting one of the World’s most important peatlands, through education about the importance of peatlands to local and global ecosystems. Partially through the efforts of the BBCS, Burns Bog may soon receive RAMSAR designation, as testament to it’s international importance.

Eliza will talk briefly about the threats and challenges of the South Fraser Perimeter Road and its potential impacts on Burns Bog. It will be an opportunity to discuss the connections and common problems of the North and South Fraser Perimeter Roads in our rapidly expanding road system.
Of course, the topic of the recent lawsuit launched by the BBCS may come up.

Eliza is also one the ten finalists in CBC’s Champions of Change competition.

December 1st happens to be the same night that the McBride Sapperton Residents Association is holding a meeting to coordinate their approach to the United Braid Extension. This is less than a week before the second Translink Open House in New Westminster on the topic.

Notably, many of the details of the “Agreement in Principle” that the City entered into over the United Boulevard Extension are included in a Report to Council that City Staff will be presenting to Council tomorrow. The details are pretty straight forward, although it will probably not end the rumours and allegations of secret deals being made by some in the City.

My quick read of the report: whatever deal New Westminster made in 1997 agreeing in principle to the UBE, Translink is not even close to having fulfilled their side of the agreement. I’m not a lawyer, but it seems to me the City is in a position to say “no” to this project, without violating the agreement. That is encouraging.