Finding parking in Ladner Village will be tougher than usual in the coming months as work is getting underway on the Delta Street Revitalization Project.
The major overhaul began Monday with the removal of trees, several of which were transplanted elsewhere in the community. The trees that were removed will eventually be replaced.
According to the engineering department, the trees along Delta Street were causing pavement to heave. In an effort to reduce trip and fall incidences and resolve drainage issues, it was necessary the trees be replaced. The new trees will be planted with tree cell technology, which will promote growth and will include a root barrier to help prevent roots from heaving the hard surfaces.
Within the coming days, a watermain replacement will begin on Delta Street,
from 48th Avenue to Chisholm Street, followed by road and sidewalk construction.
Part of the South Delta Business Sustainability Strategy, aimed in part at revitalizing South Delta's infrastructure and strengthening the village core, the Delta Street project is scheduled for completion sometime this October.
Civic engineering director Stephen Lan said the roadworks would be done on a block-by-block basis to ensure the project doesn't disrupt parking and pedestrian access for a lengthy period of time.
As far as those surface works, which are the biggest parts of the project and will create the most closures and delays, they still have to be contracted, so the exact schedule for each block has yet to be set, Lan explained.
During construction, parking on the impacted blocks will be temporarily disrupted, however, pedestrian access will be maintained.
Alternate parking locations, including space beside Memorial Park, are available around the village perimeter and a map of those locations can be found on Delta's website as well as at a project office at 4811 Delta St.
Some of the other components of the $6 million project include sidewalk replacement, a decorative pedestrian plaza at the intersection of Delta and Bridge streets, decorative stamped/coloured pedestrian crosswalks at intersections, new landscaping areas that include irrigation, new street lights as well as bicycle racks, benches, decorative bollards, banner poles and garbage/recycling receptacles.
Ladner Business Association president Andrea Frustaci told the Optimist he prefers to focus on the tremendous positives of the project, so there's
"short term pain for long term gain."
