Community members were invited to participate in an online survey between June 10 and July 11. The survey was designed to collect feedback on the vision and themes for the greenway as well as the design treatments being recommended along Phase 1 of the Agnes Greenway.

In total, 126 people participated in the survey. The following is a snapshot of what we heard through the survey. A detailed Engagement Summary report can be found in the Documents section of this project page or by CLICKING HERE.

The following video provides an overview of what is being recommended for the permanent design for Phase 1 of the Agnes Greenway. Below the video, you will find a block-by-block visual walk-through of the recommendations (click the "Recommended Permanent Design" title to see all the images!).

We look forward to hearing what you think of the recommended permanent design for Phase 1 of the Agnes Greenway. Your input will help the project team finalize the design over the summer. Everyone is encouraged to provide feedback! Please take the time to fill out the community survey and participate in the discussion forum.

Visual Summary

Agnes Street: Seventh Street to Sixth Street

Agnes Street: Sixth Street to Fourth Street

Agnes Street: Options for Blackwood Street

Agnes Street: East of Blackwood Street to Elliot Street

Agnes Street: East of Elliot Street to Windsor Street

Agnes Street: First Street to Dufferin Street

The permanent design of Phase 1 of the Agnes Greenway is informed by what we heard from stakeholders and community members and the results of a monitoring program about the performance of the interim greenway.

Based on this input, the following vision for the Greenway was developed:

The Agnes Greenway will be an active and healthy street that is a safe, comfortable, and inviting place for people of all ages and abilities to walk, wheel, and cycle. The greenway will celebrate and provide opportunities to learn about and experience the street’s unique heritage and ecological context.

Seven key themes make up the vision for the Agnes Greenway and have been incorporated into the permanent design for Phase 1. The key themes are as follows:

• Health: The Greenway will encourage active and healthy forms of transportation and recreation, including walking, wheeling, and cycling, and will also improve physical and mental health by reducing traffic volumes and speeds, reducing noise, and reducing emissions. The project will also recognize the historic health connection to the former Saint Mary’s Hospital, which is now the site of Saint Mary’s Park and Ecole Qayqayt Elementary School.
• Heritage: The Greenway will celebrate the history of its context, including indigenous heritage and its location in Downtown New Westminster, British Columbia’s original capital city, including connections to Albert Crescent, the City’s oldest park, founded in 1876. The project will also recognize other historic elements such as Saint Mary’s Hospital and will look at creative ways to adaptively re-use historic materials in the design such as repurposed bricks, granite setts, and planters.
• Ecology: The Greenway is envisioned as a park-like street, that will seek opportunities to increase the downtown tree canopy, provide landscaping and greening opportunities, and re-imagine the historic lost stream that ran across this alignment through Green Infrastructure opportunities.
• Learning: The Greenway will recognize its role as a street for learning with students from both Douglas College and Ecole Qayqayt Elementary School, and will include features that enable learning about the history, ecology, and other aspects of the greenway such as interpretive signage and walking tours.
• Play: The Greenway will recognize its role as an inter-generational street that brings together people of all ages and abilities, ranging from children attending Ecole Qayqayt Elementary School to seniors and older adults living along the corridor. The street will provide opportunities for fun and interactive connections for children to Ecole Qayqayt Elementary School and Saint Mary’s Park.
• Inviting: Agnes Street will become an inviting street with a strong sense of identity and place with a range of public amenities such as benches, plazas, public art, lighting, wayfinding, and view opportunities. The community will be encouraged to take ownership and stewardship of the greenway.
• Safe: Agnes Street will be a safe, secure, and comfortable experience for people of all ages and abilities and for all users, by separating users, improving intersection safety, and improving lighting.

Please take the time to fill out the community survey in order to let us know what you think of the vision and themes for the Agnes Greenway.

Community members were invited to participate in an online survey between February 9 and March 12, 2021. The survey was designed to collect feedback on the interim greenway and aspirations for the permanent Greenway design.

In total, 230 people participated in the survey. The following is a snapshot of what we heard through the survey. A detailed Engagement Summary report can be found in the Documents section of this project page or by CLICKING HERE.

On March 8 the project team hosted the first virtual open house as part of the Agnes Greenway project, offering afternoon and evening sessions. The open house began with an overview presentation and Q&A period, followed by facilitated discussions in small groups. The group discussions focused on collecting feedback on the interim Greenway and aspirations for the future Greenway.

The presentation and Q&A period was recorded for those unable to attend.

Following the implementation of the interim Agnes Street Greenway, a series of conversations were held with key stakeholders on Lorne Street and the immediate surrounding area, to understand their operations. Based on these conversations and issues raised, it has been determined that routing of the Agnes Street Greenway via Lorne Street is not feasible. The Greenway routing will therefore be adjusted.

The project team is now developing a design for the interim Greenway on Sixth Street from Agnes Street to Carnarvon Street. As the interim design for this routing is developed and constructed, we will be in contact with the businesses along Sixth Street and continue to consult with them throughout the design process.

The Agnes Street Greenway will continue to provide an important connection to Douglas College, as shown on the revised map below.

Agnes Street Greenway - Revised Routing

We are pleased to announce the interim Agnes Street Greenway is now officially open! There is some remaining signage to be installed – including directional wayfinding – but the route is safe to use and the temporary barriers have now been removed. We invite all New Westminster residents to get out and ride, walk or roll along the interim Agnes Street Greenway.

An online community survey, accessible through this site, will be launched in February, 2021 to collect feedback from Agnes Street residents and other community members about their experience using the interim Greenway. The survey will also be an opportunity to provide your comments on how you would like the permanent design to look. An online open house is planned for late February. Stay tuned to this page for the latest information on engagement opportunities.

We want to thank everyone for the comments, questions, and suggestions since we launched the design process. It is important to acknowledge that we are in the beginning stages of the Greenway’s design process. We understand that the interim Greenway construction resulted in changes to how you may use the street. The interim Greenway was built to find out how all road users use the space and to address your concerns before the permanent infrastructure is built.

We have received dozens of questions on this site, through email and by phone. Many of the questions and comments have revolved around three key themes, which have been summarized below.

1. Public transit routing

In response to early concerns raised about transit changes and accessibility, we worked with TransLink and Coast Mountain Bus Company to revise the eastbound re-routing for route #105. Route #105 now uses northbound Fourth Street and continues eastbound along Royal Avenue, before resuming its existing routing northbound along Second Street. A new bus stop has been implemented on Fourth Street at Agnes Street to replace the previous stop on Agnes Street at Fourth Street. With this adjustment, people will still be able to reach the area of Agnes Street at Fourth Street from New Westminster and Columbia Stations by bus.

Eastbound route #103 travels along Carnarvon Street and continues northbound on Elliot Street before continuing on its current route east of Elliot Street.

These two routes provide additional choices for how residents can travel through the neighbourhood by transit. Westbound transit routes remain unchanged for both routes for the interim design.

We understand that the new #105 routing affects those who used to travel to Uptown from the eastern end of Agnes Street. The changes to transit routing are being monitored and we will continue to work closely with TransLink and Coast Mountain Bus Company on long-term solutions for this neighbourhood, with a strong focus on accessibility for seniors and people with disabilities.

2. One-way streets and on-street parking

We acknowledge the installation of the interim greenway has meant a significant change for many residents living along Agnes Street. With the addition of the Greenway, there is not enough space to accommodate on-street parking on both sides of the street and vehicle traffic in both directions. As a result, we have tried to balance the needs for access and parking along the corridor.

Vehicle traffic has been changed to one-way westbound for the two blocks between Merivale Street and Sixth Street. This change provides the space needed to accommodate dedicated cycling facilities while also retaining on-street parking on both sides of the street in those blocks. For residents on Agnes Street traveling east to their homes, Royal Avenue or Carnarvon Street may be used to travel to the block where the resident lives.

Two-way vehicle travel has been maintained on the remaining portions of Agnes Street and adjoining streets to ensure residents and visitors can reach their destinations, including Qayqayt Elementary School.

Although the Downtown Transportation Plan recommends making Fourth Street one-way southbound, we have decided to put these plans on hold due to concerns raised about transit service to the Agnes Street area.

During the planning process we have taken into consideration both parking and vehicle travel needs. On-street parking on both sides of the street has been maintained for much of the corridor, except on one block between Sixth Street and Seventh Street and two blocks between Merivale Street and First Street. The single-sided parking was necessary to allow for two-way vehicle travel and to maintain access for transit.

We are committed to listening to all feedback on the interim Greenway and are open to making adjustments where possible, including further changes to parking regulations.

During the engagement process we will ask residents for feedback on how best to balance the need for vehicle traffic and on-street parking to better understand community priorities. The feedback will be considered as the project team develops the permanent design.

3. Interim vs permanent design

The Agnes Greenway is in the first phase of the design process. The interim Greenway has been constructed through a ‘quick-build’ process using low cost, temporary design elements. The City has envisioned the Agnes Greenway for more than a decade and consulted with community members about the project during several larger planning processes, including the Downtown Community Plan and Downtown Transportation Plan.

To fully understand the real-life implications described in the planning processes and documents, the City decided to build the interim Greenway and use it as an engagement tool during the design process. Think of the interim Greenway as a real-life mock-up of the planning documents. This approach gives community members the opportunity to experience Agnes Street changes and to provide informed feedback based on their experience about how the greenway can be improved for all road users.

The interim Greenway also allows the project team to collect data and observations and make adjustments easily before a permanent design is finalized and constructed. We anticipate construction on the permanent design to begin in late 2021.

The New Westminster Record published an article about the Agnes Greenway project on January 21, 2021.

Read the article here:

New West getting set to open Agnes Street greenway

Happy New Year! Thank you to everyone who has sent comments, questions, and suggestions since construction began in December 2020. Early February will see the launch of an online community survey to collect specific feedback from the community as we start to look at the possibilities for the permanent design. Watch this space!

Better Environmentally Sound Transportation (BEST) featured the Agnes Greenway project on January 7, 2021. The article featured a walking tour of the interim greenway.

Read the article here:

Walkable New Westminster - A short walking tour of the Agnes Street Greenway