Thank you for your question. We have identified that paving the laneway between Aintree Place/Aintree Crescent and Shell Road will completed in the near future. Paving of this location is referenced in the City of Richmond’s Consolidated 5 Year Financial Plan and it is estimated this project will be completed within the next 3 to 5 years.

Thanks for your interest. The extent to which infrastructure is designed to accommodate future populations would take into account a number of factors, such as OCP land use and population projections, anticipated timing of development, ease of construction, and typical service lives. Laneways have shorter lifespans and are more easily adapted to accommodate new development and would typically be designed for a shorter design horizon. On the other hand, watermains have longer lifespans and require significant cost and construction disturbance to upsize. Therefore, they are designed for a longer design horizon. Sewer and water infrastructure, in particular, is often designed with excess capacity and redundancies that can accommodate some variability in population and land use, should it deviate from the OCP.

Thanks for your question. The City of Richmond does not discharge any sanitary sewer water. All sanitary sewer flows are sent to Metro Vancouver-operated treatment plants. The City collects sewer water from residents and directs it into Metro Vancouver-owned sewer pipes, which transport the flow to these treatment plants. Metro Vancouver then treats the sewage flows to levels that can be safely discharged. More information on Metro Vancouver’s liquid waste services can be found here: http://www.metrovancouver.org/services/liquid-waste/about/Pages/default

Thank you for your question. The City is conducting repairs to the box culvert under No. 4 Road between Granville Avenue and Blundell Road. Lane closures are made out of consideration for the safety of the public and construction crews completing these repairs. The City has also identified grading and drainage issues on the surface of the roadway that are in need of repair. As a result, the roadway is scheduled for a full re-paving throughout the first week of June, weather permitting.

Thanks for your question. Dike Master Plan Phase 4 is currently in the engagement phase and covers the north dike between No. 6 Road and Boundary Road. You can find information on how to become involved at www.LetsTalkRichmond.ca/floodprotection. In general, plant and tree roots can provide a path for water to erode the dike material and are not encouraged on the City’s dike. Staff inspect our dikes three times a year to ensure these issues are addressed and that the integrity of Richmond’s flood protection system is maintained.

Richmond is a recognized leader in flood protection planning and mitigation, having established one of the most advanced flood protection programs in the region. As a local government, we are in the best position to implement flood protection improvements and make associated land use decisions, with Provincial support and coordination. Over the past 10 years, through the Drainage and Diking Utility and senior government grant funding, the City has dedicated over $120 million to completing flood protection projects, including pump station and dike upgrade projects. Of that $120 million, $40 million was secured through senior government grants.

Great question! Prior to paving a road in Richmond, we check to ensure there are no major water, sanitary and drainage work planned. It is in our best interest to ensure there are less cuts and repairs to a recent pavement job since it reduces the life of the finished road. However, 3rd party services that are not operated by the City may need to cut pavement to do important repairs, install new service connections or upgrade infrastructure within a few years of a newly paved road. 

The work you mentioned at Gilbert and Granville is a perfect example of a 3rd party that performed underground work to upgrade their infrastructure. For situations like this, the City has a policy regulating the cutting of newly paved roads, which requires the roadways to be restored in a manner that reduces bumps and ensures long term road quality. We also coordinate with all 3rd party stakeholders of planned paving works to reduce the number of required cuts on new roadways.

Thanks for your question. With respect to sidewalk requests, we have a Local Area Services Program (LASP) that is funded by the owners of adjacent properties with some financial assistance from the City. Interested neighbourhoods can contact Serene Pang at 604-276-4394 if they wish to pursue this.

Thanks for reaching out to inquire about the exciting initiatives overseen by the City’s District Energy Utility (DEU) provider, Lulu Island Energy Company. Design for a sewer heat recovery facility to serve the Oval Village DEU is actually already underway, with the aim to complete facility construction in 2025/2026. This facility will extract thermal heat from Metro Vancouver’s trunk sewer along Gilbert Rd. Utilizing this locally sourced renewable energy supply for the OVDEU area will play a key role in reducing the City’s carbon footprint.

The planning and due diligence phase for the City Centre DEU system is nearing completion, with the aim of starting detailed design for the system as early as this year (conditional to City Council endorsement). In the meantime an interim connection strategy is being implemented for upcoming developments in the City Centre Area in which new buildings utilize onsite low carbon energy plants (all being air source heat pump based so far) that are designed to interconnect to the future CCDEU system. These onsite energy plants will minimize natural gas usage considerably, and will provide backup energy upon connection to the CCDEU which will further strengthen the reliability of these robust DEU systems.

Thanks for your interest. Following two rounds of public engagement in 2021,we're now finalizing the update of the Cycling Network Plan. A key objective of the Plan is to improve cycling safety with facilities that are comfortable for all ages and abilities. The plan will include a prioritized implementation strategy to expand the cycling network and improve connectivity between communities. The final plan is anticipated to be presented to Council this summer.