Port Moody to split cost of replacing failing retaining wall near Pleasantside Elementary

Port Moody council has agreed to split the cost of replacing a deteriorating retaining wall along Barber Street, after staff determined the aging structure is partly a city asset.

On July 29, council voted unanimously to contribute up to $90,000 from the city’s reserves toward the $184,000 project, which will see the wood crib wall replaced with an engineered concrete lock-block design. 

The work is being led by the Coquitlam School District and will take place adjacent to Pleasantside Elementary School, where the wall supports the slope between the sidewalk and one of the school’s parking lots.

Jeff Moi, Port Moody’s general manager of engineering and operations, told council the wall’s origins are murky, but clues point to a shared history.

“The school district actually started getting ready to rebuild the wall, and we’d actually done a little bit of review on the design as well, and realized it’s not only on city property, but part of the wall was actually built primarily for implementing a sidewalk there – so it is partly our wall, and partly the school district’s,” Moi said.

According to the staff report, no construction records exist, but the portion nearest the school matches its parking lot railing and was likely built during the original school construction. The western section changes height and alignment, suggesting it was installed later by the city to extend the sidewalk, which today is only about 1.35 metres wide.

The wall, which has been in place for decades, is now in visibly poor condition. 

“It is failing. I’ve gone out and taken a look at it. They’ve assessed the same. It’s leaning over, and we’re hoping to do our part to replace it,” Moi said.

The report notes the wall’s primary function today is to provide space for the north Barber Street sidewalk. The replacement will be built entirely on city property to avoid increasing the height and impacting nearby trees and landscaping.

The concrete lock-block design is expected to last significantly longer than the existing wood crib structure and meet current city engineering standards.

Moi said the city is also working with SD43 to see if the western portion of the wall can be realigned to widen the sidewalk to at least 1.5 metres, better meeting accessibility standards.

“It’s quite a steep slope behind it, so it’s a bit challenging, but if we can, we’ll get just a little bit more to allow a more accessible sidewalk,” he said.

Coun. Callan Morrison said he would have preferred the school district cover the full cost but accepted the compromise. “I appreciate the fact that it’s a 50-50 split, and the fact that you’re looking at widening of the sidewalk at the same time,” Morrison said.

Coun. Kyla Knowles called the arrangement “good sense,” and said she appreciated the report’s explanation of why the project is a municipal responsibility.

“And of course, the ability to widen the sidewalk used by our elementary school students is a great idea,” she added.

Once completed, the city will take ownership of the wall, including maintenance and eventual replacement, ensuring it remains part of the city’s transportation infrastructure.