Fraser Heights Community Association

President’s Report

• Frank Russell has taken on the role as President of the Association
• Rob Langford stepped down as President but continues to be a director. Marcie Kroeker and Cathy Moore have been added as new directors. The full list of directors is posted on the FHCA website (www.fhca.ca).

Treasurer’s Report

• Heather Nelson, treasurer reported that one FHCA member will be attending a transportation seminar at SFU

Neighbourhood Policing Report

• News from Constable Chris Dibblee who is the liaison officer for Fraser Heights – contact him via email for any concerns in the community (604-839-6971, 778-593-3559 or at christopher.dibblee@rcmp-grc.gc.ca):
• The 4 way stops, especially at the corner of 108th Ave and 156th Street, have been actively patrolled recently. Many tickets have been given out for not stopping at the stop signs.
• Member’s concern – the 110th Ave and 156th Street intersection also needs patrolling as a large number of people are not stopping at stop signs.
• There was worry about an elderly resident named Jack (Caucasian and of slight stature) – he is prone to wander away from his house and since he is partially blind, he gets lost – call the RCMP if you see him – he tends to visit the parks and has been found around the high school.

Parks and Recreation

• Surrey Bend – work hasn’t started at this site yet.
• There were no updates on the Fraser Heights Recreation Centre upgrade – plans for this upgrade are posted in the entranceway of the Rec Centre
• JR Douglas Park – the entrance way at 109 where it joins 163 has been closed off as it had become a hangout area – this has cut the traffic down in the area

Gateway Update

• Heather gave an update on Gateway – there is a planned open house meeting concerning noise abatement for east Fraser Heights – sometime after Thanksgiving (Oct 17 to 23rd) – the homes that are in the vicinity (100th Ave. area by freeway – past Pacific Academy) will get a letter to invite them to the open house but it will also be in posted in the Leader).
• New drawings are out. Some homes will be losing property for ramp. For homes that are east of 164th – the executive will meet with Gateway prior to meeting with public so if you have any questions to be brought forward, please email the directors so your questions can be brought forth.
• Accidents – Fraser Heights has 3 exits 176th Street, 160th Street and 152nd Street (which is now closed for access in and out of Fraser Heights). There were 680 accidents at these 3 exits last year – this is one of the highest accident rates at intersections in Surrey.
• The intersection of 164th Street & 104th Avenue – FHCA has been dealing with the City – they won’t budge to provide us with a light or stop sign. The City said Gateway will change how that intersection will function but there continues to be very poor visibility on 104th that causes problems.
• Kewit has set up a camp and office at 104th Ave. at the industrial area – that’s where they store trucks and work out of.
• SFPR – Hwy construction – no major news to report – they have stripped trees on 176. The Fire Station and Korean church will stay. There has been a lot of preloading going on at the bottom of 176th Street and 104th Ave. They’ve also done some preloading by the intermodal yards.
• Traffic problems continue to be an issue. We are still trying to work through some of our priority issues such as the intersections at 104th Ave and 164th Street and 104th Ave and 160th Streets. These are two of the most dangerous intersections in the province – over 220 accidents a year. The reply given by the City is that Gateway will address these issues but we’ve still got a few years till completion so something needs to be done in the interim. There needs to be a stopgap measure such as light timing or a left turn signal at south side of overpass.
• Red light cameras are not a solution – they just end up being a cash cow as those heading south on 160th Street turning left (east) onto the freeway are often forced to turn left on red light to get through intersection at the south end of the 160th overpass.
• Residents have reported it has been taking them an extra 15 to 20 minutes commuting time now that access to the freeway at 110th and 152nd has been closed off. A big problem was that people have not been able to get near the Rec Centre to work out as the traffic is often backed up to the high school in the morning. The High school has been closing the gates so that people don’t cut through there to cut the line on 160th. There may be no easy solution until the whole Gateway project is completed in a few years. The buses have also had to wait in this line of cars so they can make a left turn onto 104th Ave. to continue their bus route through Fraser Heights.

Pedestrian Overpass

• Work on the pedestrian and cyclist overpass from 168th Street to Tynehead park will start in next 2 months as it is slated to be finished by March 2011.

Surrey Parks

• They are initiating a mini mural program – they want the garbage cans that are in the parks to be painted by school groups, cubs, brownies, family groups etc. The City is supplying the garbage cans and paints and they want a sketch of what you/your group want to paint on the can submitted to Surrey Parks.

Development at 176th Street and Highway #1 Update

• There was a proposal for 6 storey wood structure buildings. As it stands, the whole area is still zoned as per the development that was planned in 1992 – it included a gas bar, convenience store etc. The zoning hasn’t been changed since then. The latest application was to have had the zoning changed in block 1 of the project (the entire project was divided into 5 or 6 blocks) but to date, the property has not been rezoned yet. This housing development will cause the population density to increase immensely.
• Fraser Heights Secondary School has one of the highest numbers of portables in Surrey. The expansion of the high school is in the 5 year plan (stated last year) and because of this, the project was allowed to be accepted.

Next meeting is Tuesday, November 30th.

Fraser Heights Community Association Meeting – May 25, 2010

Recreation Centre

• Expansion of the Fraser Heights Recreation Centre The City of Surrey has provided money to expand the Fraser Heights Rec Centre. Two architects attended the meeting and presented their renditions of what the addition will probably look like. They had studied the land, drainage, utilities etc. and also the carbon footprint. The design has been approved but there is a chance to see the drawings and to have input on Tuesday June 15 at an open house at the Fraser Heights Rec Centre.
• The proposal was to build a fitness centre that will be equal to or larger than Guildfords Centre. The current Wellness Centre will become a multipurpose room – it is about 1500 square feet. Above the current gym will be built a 7500 sq ft gym and above the Wellness Centre will be built a 7500 fitness and aerobic centre. Since these are bigger than the building below, there will be some overhang. The rest of the extra space will be used for “flex” rooms that can be used in different ways. Aesthetically, it looked really nice in the drawings! These drawings will be going out for community approval and input before the final drawings are submitted to City Hall in late June 2010. The contract will be put out for tenders in the fall and construction should begin in late fall. The expected opening date will be late fall of 2011. These architects specialize in building ice rinks/swimming pools and usually put them together due to creating a heat pump system to save energy. Although these will not be in this phase of expansion, the land is being left for future additions. Send any comments, questions or suggestions to Christa Balatti at cjbalatti@surrey.ca or phone her at 604-502-6229 or drop your comments off at the Rec Centre in care of Carla.
• There was a real concern about the traffic that might make it difficult to access the gym once the 152 on ramp to the freeway closes. The architects will be looking into how to solve this problem. Any suggestions?

Police Update

• Chris Dibblee is our Fraser Heights liaison RCMP officer. He can be reached at 604-839-6971, 778-593-3559 or at christopher.dibblee@rcmp-grc.gc.ca . Please do not hesitate to contact him about policing issues in Fraser Heights.
• He reported that the police have been ticketing drivers on 156 St. who have gone through the stop signs at 108 and 110th Avenues.
• There was a raid on a residence on Glenwood Drive that ended on being a grow op bust this weekend.
• Community mailbox theft has decreased significantly in the past two months.
• The RCMP will be at the Fraser Heights Community Fair and will have a police cruiser there for kids to climb inside and even try the siren.
• The RCMP have started the summer Friday/Saturday park patroling which will continue till Halloween. They go from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
• A few community members told about swarming /muggings in Fraser Heights. Groups of youths in the age ranges of 15 to 17 hang out and then approach other teens for cell phones, money etc. They are armed with bear mace. Some of the perpetrators have been caught but if you hear of or see anything, call Chris ASAP.
• Staff Seargeant Dean Scott has taken over as head of the RCMP office at 148 Street and 104 Avenue. He can be reached at dean.scott@rcmp.grc.gc.ca or at 604-502-6510 if you have any concerns about policing in Fraser Heights or the Guildford area.

Surrey Action Housing Plan

• Surrey Action Housing Plan – a survey is being drawn up to be circulated to homes in Surrey to seek residents’ opinions on secondary suites in Surrey. The survey will be conducted in two ways – by eamil and by phone. It is the same survey and they hope to contact 600 people by each method.

Surrey Bend Park

• Surrey Bend Park (foot of 176 Street/104 Ave). An area of the park had fill put in it years ago and this area will become a parking lot for about 100 cars. Surrey has budgeted $20 million for the development of this park over several years. This project can be viewed under the City of Surrey website. Phase one should be starting soon. Mention was made about the Port Mann landfill that is supposed to be turned into a park. The only access to it now is via a trail at the bottom of Dogwood Campgrounds.

Traffic

• Traffic Issues – the City of Surrey has given Fraser Heights all the traffic calming measures that had been requested and no more are to be done. If any residents believe there should be more, they have to contact the City who will measure and decide if anything should be done. Fixing the shoulders on 156 Street had been requested but just some potholes were filled in and a line was painted down the centre.
• the closure of the #1 Highway onramp at 110 Street and 152nd Ave is slated to close at the end of the summer of this year. Concerns were brought forward about congestion of traffic around the high school. This is being looked into.
• there are problems with traffic turning right onto 104 Ave when heading south on 156 Street. Pedestrians cross when the light is green so that traffic turning right have to wait and since all through traffic is in the same lane, the traffic is backing up. Solutions given were to not allow pedestrians to use that crosswalk to cross from the north west to the south west (or vs.) corners at certain times of the day (especially from 8 to 9 and 2 to 3 when there are lots of students using the crosswalks).
• There have been several accidents at 104 Ave and 164 Street but the City refuses to even provide a 4 way stop sign at this intersection. Once the whole #1 project comes to completion, the City did not think this intersection would be an issue (and yet, nothing is proposed to change there).

Other Business

• There are two new Toastmasters’ Clubs in Fraser Heights. One is a Gavel Club (Wordworthy) for students in junior and senior high. There is a second club (Fraser Heights Cornerstone) for adults (ages 18 and over). Both clubs meet on Friday evenings at 7:30 p.m. at the church on the corner of 110 Ave and 154 Street (entrance to parking lot is off 110 Ave). The clubs are open to anyone wanting to improve their public speaking skills and have a fun and entertaining evening.
• The development at the corner of 176 Street/Highway #1 and Barnston appears to be on hold for the moment. This developer may flip the property or may start building at any time. He does have the proper permits but he is not letting anyone know his intent to build or his time frame. If he goes ahead with his plans, this will be one of the 3 higest density housing areas in all of Surrey (Guildford and Surrey Central are the other 2).

FRASER HEIGHTS ASSOCIATION MEETING – March 25, 2010

• There have been 2 focus group meetings in the City of Surrey to create a housing action plan. A policy for suites is being developed. Questions being asked are: should there be only one suite per house and should the homes be owner occupied? The City has hired a professional polling company to do a random survey and will possibly follow up with a poll mailed to all Surrey residents. If you want any more information about this, you can contact the Fraser Heights Community Association via their website.

Gateway/SFPR (South Fraser Perimeter Road) and PMH1 (Port Mann Highway 1) projects:

• 154 Street/ 110 Ave access to Guildford was closed March 8. Apparently signage was lacking so new signs were installed late Tuesday evening of this week. 26 cars have been seen going north along 152 on the overpass, pulling to the side and then backing into Fraser Heights on the Fraser Hts entrance to the overpass.. Police will monitor this.
• 176 – dirt is being loaded in and around this area in preparation for the new overpass. Many trees were removed this week to make room for the road work. By request, this project will be done during the day.
• The 104 Avenue/160 Street intersection at the south end of the 160^th Street overpass has spent years requesting a left turn light for those heading south on 160 to turn east onto the #1. Yet again, it was denied but this time they said late 2010 or early 2011, the cloverleaf will be ready to allow those heading east on the freeway to turn right at the south end of the overpass, loop around and join the #1 eastbound. The light at 160^th/104 will continue to exist but it is not certain for how long after opening the cloverleaf.
• The consultation meeting for Fraser Heights’ residents from 164 Street eastward is being planned for May to refine the design. It is hoped to take place at Pacific Academy. If you have any questions about this project, send them to the Fraser Hts. Community Association website.

Freezer Heights 2^nd Annual Spring Thaw

• Dinner, dance and social will be held April 17^th at the Fraser Heights Rec Centre. There will be a live band that will play requests (60s, 70s, 80s etc.). Door prizes and a silent auction add excitement to the evening. Tickets are $30 and there are only 360 tickets – it sold out early last year. You can buy these from all 4 Fraser Heights’ elementary school PACs. There are also $5 raffle tickets being sold – the prizes are a 42 inch TV, an apple I touch and $100 – so if you can’t go to the dinner/dance, this is another way to support the schools. Last year, the event raised $8000 which was split between the 4 elementary schools.

Surrey Beautification grants.

• Fraser Heights is getting 9 trees to be planted adjacent to the Rec Centre on Thursday April 22^nd at 6 p.m. Come out and help plant the trees – it is a family event. Fraser Heights is also requesting a utility box wrap for the utility box at the corner of 104 Ave and 160 Street. Since this is the main entrance to Fraser Heights, a nice welcoming picture or ? would be nice around this utility box. If you have any ideas, submit them through the community website.

Other Business

• Rob Langford, the president of the Fraser Heights Community Association, is stepping down as president and would like someone in the community to take over this job. He is starting his new endeavour – he is opening a restaurant at the end of April where Leandros / DaMichele used to be. It will be a family orientated restaurant with a menu that includes quite a variety of foods including tapas and a kid’s menu. He said the name would be Fraser Bistro and Lounge (I’m not sure if he said Fraser, Fraser’s or Fraser Heights).