Being trapped with no way out of the community is one of Lori Williams’ biggest fears as a new construction project is slated to begin next month in Hamilton.
Williams, a long-time Richmond resident, is concerned for the safety of east Richmond residents if the city were to move ahead with a new sanitary pump upgrade at Willett Park, leaving residents “no way out” if an emergency were to occur.
According to Williams, Gilley Road, one of the community’s main access roads to Westminster Highway, is currently closed due to ongoing condo developments. So, it would be a bad idea to start another project until the first one is finished, she argued.
“I’m really concerned that we will have no other way out if an emergency happened,” said Williams.
“It’s a massive clogging of traffic for residents living here in Hamilton, already. Residents have to drive through the Hamilton school’s parking lot, around Gilley Road and then onto Smith because of roadwork in our small community.”
Although the Hamilton Village Care Centre has been completed, “high levels of construction” from the Hamilton Village condo development, which has been delayed since February, has greatly impacted Gilley Road, Westminster Highway and Smith Crescent, she explained.
Williams told the Richmond News that she felt like her concerns were “dismissed” when she contacted the person in charge of the sanitary pump project.
She claims she was told, by the project manager, that no consultation between their project and the Gilley Road construction was done and that everything “would be fine.”
However, Clay Adams, spokesperson for the City of Richmond, said city staff are aware of the level of construction already underway, and “are coordinating with developers in the area to try and reduce traffic impacts for residents.”
He added that the construction, which is expected to start mid-July, will mainly be happening within the park area.
“While we apologize for the inconvenience this is causing for people in the Hamilton area, the Willett Sanitary Pump Station is an important project and one that will bring long-term benefits to the community,” said Adams.
The station is expected to provide a comprehensive sanitary system for the Hamilton area that is seeing an increase in population density, he added.
While the sanitary pump project and the safety of residents in the area is the main concern for Williams, she also told the News that Hamilton is often “ignored.”
“We don’t have a high school, we don’t have a library, we don’t have a police station … yet (the city) makes these massively beautiful crosswalks in Steveston,” said Williams.
“This is really exasperating when you’re in the ‘forgotten area’ of Richmond.”
