2024 may not have been the Year of the Petition but a growing number of New West residents tried to spur action by launching petitions.
Stop the Overdevelopment at Columbia Square! and Improve Safety at Elementary School Crosswalk are names of two of the online petitions New West residents started in 2024 in response to community concerns.
New West residents have launched many online petitions through the years – everything from calling for ditch enclosures in Queensborough, keeping the recycling depot, removing bike lanes, and improving pedestrian safety on Princess Street.
But online petitions really seemed to ramp up in 2024. Here is a look at some of the issues that inspired New West residents to act – via online petitions – in 2024.
In response to the city’s consideration of a redevelopment proposal for Columbia Square shopping plaza, “New West Citizen” started the “Stop the Overdevelopment at Columbia Square!” petition on Nov. 3. As of Dec. 20, 1,344 people had signed the petition.
“New Westminster is the second most dense city in Canada, yet developers have convinced the city council to approve plans for an eight-tower development, each up to 53 storeys high, at Columbia Square (10th Street and Columbia),” said the petition. “The city needs to stop this from moving forward because our city amenities and infrastructure are too far behind.”
The petition states that schools are already well over capacity, sports and leisure activities are filled, and traffic is “terrible” in New West.
“The city council needs to hear from the residents that this is a terrible idea, and the lagging amenities and traffic need to be addressed before bringing in even more density to our city,” said the petition launched by the unnamed citizen.
On Nov. 16, New West resident Lyndsay Cotterall launched the Improve Safety at Elementary School Crosswalk (6th Ave & 2nd St. New West) petition. As of Dec. 20, this petition had 1,175 signatures.
The petition urges the City of New Westminster to improve safety at the intersection near Herbert Spence Elementary School.
“The intersection at Sixth Avenue and Second Street New Westminster has proven to be perilous due to the frequency of traffic incidents occurring there,” said the petition. “The traffic at this location is heavy and is sure to increase with the continued changes in New West. The situation demands our immediate attention and action to prevent potential tragedies involving our young students.”
In addition to an online petition, parents also attended a city council meeting to emphasize their concerns about this intersection.
On. Nov. 5, New Westminster resident Gavin Sawle launched an online petition – Two Crosswalks: a "Path of Remembrance" On 6th Street, Between Royal Ave & Queen's Ave.
As of Dec. 20, 331 people had signed his petition, which calls for the creation of two “Remembrance Street Crossings for our heroes” at two New West intersections in close proximity to the city’s annual Remembrance Day service – Sixth Street and Royal Avenue, and Sixth Street and Queens Avenue
“Join me in urging the New Westminster city council to implement this Remembrance Street Crossing. This move is symbolic of our continued respect for our veterans and a daily reminder of their heroic deeds. Sign the petition and let's honour our Canadian Veterans together.”
The petition went online a day after Coun. Paul Minhas sought to have a motion added to council’s Nov. 4 agenda regarding the installation of veterans’ recognition crosswalks near two locations on Sixth Street – the Royal Westminster Regiment’s Armory and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 2. That motion would have asked council to direct staff to determine the feasibility of painting two crosswalks in recognition of the service of veterans prior to Nov. 11, 2024.
Because Minhas had not submitted a notice of motion in advance of the meeting, as outlined in the council procedures bylaw, council did not consider his motion.
More petitions
While locals were busy launching online petitions in November, New Westminster residents also started petitions earlier in the year.
In September, a post on the City of New Westminster’s website stated that the Q to Q ferry service would end on Dec. 15, 2024 (due to an unexpected increase in operating costs in recent months) and would resume in January 2025. It noted that the service would be ending in mid-December in order to ensure the ferry’s costs remain with the budget approved by council.
On Sept. 12, Queensborough resident Jocelyne Shigehiro launched the petition Q2Q Ferry - A Necessity Between Queensborough and the Quay. It has since been signed by 975 people.
“We, the residents and businesses of Queensborough, petition the City of New Westminster to extend the operation of the Q2Q ferry to the end of 2024 and to ensure that operations will continue in 2025 and beyond,” said the petition. “The Queensborough area of New Westminster is a fast growing area of the city with a varied population of all ages, young families and active retirees. The ferry has proven to be an invaluable service to our residents in their daily lives be it to and from work or school, appointments for services of all kinds, shopping and entertainment. I am certain that the New Westminster downtown businesses have felt the benefit of easy access for our Queensborough residents.”
The City of New Westminster quickly changed course with its plans for Q to Q ferry service. A day after the petition went live, the city posted a revised schedule showing the ferry service would continue until the end of December (with the exception of Christmas Day and Boxing Day) and stressing the city had no plans to eliminate the ferry service after 2024.
The City of New Westminster’s proposed 2025 operating budget includes funding enhancements for the ferry service.
Another New West petition also generated a quick response in early 2024.
In February, New West resident Brianna Harris started an online petition that went viral online. The Cancel Danger Cats' Show at House of Comedy in New Westminster petition was signed by more than 3,000 people.
“I am deeply disturbed by the upcoming show of the ‘comedy troupe’ Danger Cats at the House of Comedy in New Westminster, scheduled for March 24, 2024. This group is known for profiting off the tragedy of the Willie Pickton serial killer by making and selling shirts that exploit the Murdered and Missing Indigenous women and other women who were his victims. Their act also includes content such as residential schools and mass indigenous graves, which is completely unacceptable,” said the petition. “The murder of women should never be a basis for any kind of comedy.”
Within the first 24 hours, more than 1,600 people had signed the petition on change.org – among them a family member of one of the women killed at the Pickton farm, who stated there is nothing funny about these murders.
In response to the public’s concerns, the House of Comedy cancelled the March 24 performance.
Through the years, local youth have used online petitions to convey their concerns and desires – including a September 2018 petition calling for a live concert at NWSS by rapper Lil Pump, a February 2019 petition urging the district to call a snow day for New West schools, and a May 2023 petition to keep a vice-principal at the school.
In February 2024, several students at New Westminster Secondary School launched a petition that has been signed by 50 people: Enhance Bus Transportation Services in New Westminster, BC. It asked TransLink to improve punctuality and increase the capacity of buses during peak hours.
“We, the students of New Westminster Secondary School (NWSS) and the community of New Westminster are dealing with a crucial issue within our education and personal life due to insufficient TransLink bus services. We arrive late to classes, miss important activities, and our academic performance and attendance record are being highly impacted,” said the petition. “Buses often arrive late and/or are full, forcing us to wait for the next one or even later ones. This causes students, teachers, and citizens who rely daily on public transportation to be late and stressed in many ways.”
