52-space Lincoln Avenue childcare gets final approval

Despite concerns from neighbours around parking and traffic, on Feb. 10 Port Coquitlam council unanimously gave final approval to new childcare centre at Lincoln Avenue and Coast Meridian Road.

A couple attendees at the Feb. 10 meeting said they were shocked at size of the centre, which is set to accommodate 28 preschool-aged children as well as 24 infants and toddlers.

Both the parking and the laneway are insufficient to accommodate the extra traffic, the neighbours cautioned.

Over the past five years, there have been a total of 46 fender benders and zero fatalities at the intersection, according to Coun. Glenn Pollock.

“To us, it wouldn’t seem like very many,” he said noting intersections at Lougheed and Westwood or Lougheed and Shaughnessy are more hazardous.

Coun. Steve Darling assured the neighbours the priority was to make the daycare part of the community.

“We want this to fit into the neighbourhood. We don’t want the neighbourhood to have to fit into this,” he said.

With the removal of shrubbery at the corner and some other precautions, the corner should be a little safer, Darling said, emphasizing the importance of childcare.

“It is desperate right now for people to try and find quality daycare,” he said.

To meet that need, the city has a stated goal of adding 145 childcare spaces each year.

Proposed childcare centres often raise concerns about parking and safety, said Coun. Dean Washington.

“We get this with every application almost that we deal with,” he said.

However, explaining that he trusted city staff had done their due diligence, Washington pledged to support the project.

Other childcare centres in Port Coquitlam operate with minimal complaints about noise and traffic, according to city staff.

The applicant, Axin Architecture Ltd., will be asked to pay for several off-site improvements including a sidewalk in front of the daycare.

The project includes six parking spots – two for staff and four for parents. However, there will likely be four parking spots along Lincoln as well, according to staff.

Axin is also set to renovate the house and add a two-storey addition.

Mayor Brad West and Coun. Darrell Penner did not attend the meeting.