When the temperature soars, the public library, pools and community centres are among the places locals go to beat the heat. But where will residents go if the mercury rises and community facilities are still closed because of COVID-19?
During discussions about the city’s response to COVID-19, Coun. Jaimie McEvoy has referenced the city’s heat emergency plan on a number of occasions. On Monday, council approved his suggestion to have staff revisit the plan.
“A number of years ago there was a heat wave and the death rates went up by a small amount, both in the Downtown Eastside and in New Westminster, so we adopted heat-emergency plan,” McEvoy said. “A lot of that heat emergency plan is to advertise and to direct people to air-conditioned spaces.”
Because it’s still unknown when many civic facilities will reopen to the public, McEvoy suggested it’s time to revisit the plan and to explore what to tell people if there’s a heat wave this summer.
“That plan relies very heavily on locations with air conditioning,” he noted. “I don’t know what the alternative looks like but it might look like longer swimming pool hours or just more advice advertised to people. But the homeless population, senior citizens and people who live in certain apartments that get exceptionally hot are areas of concern. I think we need to revise that plan under the circumstances.”
Mayor Jonathan Cote supported having staff look at what the city could do to help people who need relief from heat if there is a hot spell this summer. He said the issue is topical, given the unusually hot weather on the Mother’s Day weekend.
“If that’s any precursor to what we might have in the summer, I think there is going to be a lot of residents who live in housing that, unfortunately, gets very hot,” he said. “Whether it’s Century House, the library or community centres, often people do go to those in the summer just to be able to cool down.”
Chief librarian Julie Spurrell said the New Westminster Public Library is “very busy” in the summer for that very reason. It’s currently unknown when the library will be able to safely reopen because of concerns about the transmission of COVID-19.
“The libraries are a very safe place for marginalized people to come in, read a book and get out of the heat,” said Coun. Chuck Puchmayr. “If that library is not going to be open in the summer, I want us to be ready to have some cooling plans available for our marginalized people and our homeless people to get out of the heat.”
In December 2011, council endorsed the development of an extreme weather plan, which was done in response to a “high mortality rate” seen in New Westminster during an extreme heat event in the summer of 2009. A staff report to council stated there was sustained extreme heat (over 28 degrees Celsius) for five days, with New Westminster and the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver recording the region’s highest mortality rate – nine deaths or higher.
“The plan will provide education and awareness education to the public, focusing on at-risk and vulnerable populations,” said the 2011 staff report. “It will also identify a command structure and notification system to mobilize and coordinate actions across the city during emergent situations related to extreme weather events.”
