PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

MINUTES

An Open meeting of the Public Safety Committee was held in the Council Chamber, City Hall, 4949 Canada Way, Burnaby, B.C. on Wednesday, 2019 January 16 at 6:00 p.m.

1.

CALL TO ORDER

PRESENT:

ABSENT:

ADVISORY ORGANIZATIONS:

STAFF:

Councillor Pietro Calendino, Chair

Councillor Sav Dhaliwal, Vice Chair

Councillor Nick Volkow, Member

Councillor James Wang, Member 

Ms. Donna Dawson, Burnaby Crime Prevention Society

Mr. Stephen Baron, Citizens’ Representative

Ms. Emily Li, Citizens’ Representative

Mr. Lloyd Paul, Citizens’ Representative

Mr. David Pereira, Citizens’ Representative

Mr. Dave Reid, Citizens’ Representative

Ms. Tazul Nisha Ali, Chair District #3 – Southeast 

Ms. Mary Gates, Chair District #4 – Southwest

Trustee Larry Hayes, Burnaby Board of Education

Mr. Cory Redekop, Burnaby Board of Trade

Ms. Lisa Bruschetta, Vice Chair District #1 – Hastings/Brentwood

Mr. Aki Ediriweera, Chair District #2 – Burnaby Mountain

Mr. Ken Robb, Burnaby HUB

Ms. Stace Dayment, District Parent Advisory Council Representative

Mr. Tom Webster, ICBC

Mr. Dave Critchley, Director Public Safety and Community Services

Chief Superintendent Deanne Burleigh, Officer in Charge, RCMP

Fire Chief Joe Robertson, Fire Department

Mr. Doug Louie, Assistant Director Engineering, Transportation Services

Sergeant Lorena Rostie, Strategic Planning NCO, RCMP

Ms. Lauren Cichon, Administrative Officer

The Chair called the Open meeting to order at 6:03 p.m.

The Chair acknowledged the unceded, traditional, and ancestral lands of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking people, and extended appreciation for the opportunity to hold a meeting on this shared Coast Salish territory.

2.

MINUTES

a)

Minutes of the Open meeting of the Public Safety Committee held on 2018 November 06                                                                 

MOVED BY mr. LLOYD

SECONDED BY councillor VOLKOW

THAT the minutes of the Open meeting of the Public Safety Committee held on 2018 November 06 be adopted.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

3.

DELEGATION

MOVED BY councillor VOLKOW

SECONDED by mr. reid

THAT the delegation be heard.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

a)

Jaclyn Kirby

Re: Traffic Calming Measures around Taylor Park Elementary School

Speaker: Jaclyn Kirby, PAC Chair, Taylor Park Elementary School

Ms. Jaclyn Kirby, PAC Chair, Ms. Ruby Kyte, PAC Member, Taylor Park Elementary School, provided a PowerPoint presentation regarding the current traffic situations, projected future situations and solutions. The delegations expressed concerns regarding the following issues:

·         parking in two cul-de-sacs are up to three cars deep;

·         blocked bus parking and cars parked along the crosswalk;

·         no access for emergency vehicles;

·         illegally parked cars;

·         backed up traffic;

·         jaywalking on Griffiths Drive by Stride Avenue Community School;

·         limited visibility of crosswalks.

The delegation’s recommendations to the City are as follows:

·         move the 30 km zone to the crosswalk by the Burnaby Children’s Centre Society daycare to the bottom of the hill;

·         limit pedestrian crossing along the north side of Griffiths Drive during peak hours;

·         install pedestrian controlled lights at the daycare crosswalk;

·         change parking hours for teachers to have more parking spaces and less residents parking illegally;

·         install a fence on Stride Avenue and Griffiths Drive.

Ms. Kyte thanked the Burnaby RCMP for their enforcement around the school over the past few weeks.

MOVED BY COUNCILLOR DHALIWAL

SECONDED BY MR. REID

THAT the delegation’s presentation be REFERRED to staff for review.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

4.

CORRESPONDENCE

MOVED by councillor dhaliwal

SECONDED BY councillor wang

THAT the correspondence be received.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

a)

Correspondence from Union of BC Municipalities

Re: 2017 Emergency Social Services Payment     

Correspondence was received from the Union of BC Municipalities awarding funding for the City’s project, 2017 Emergency Social Services – Group Lodging Equipment and Supplies, in the amount of $24,454.30 and congratulated the City for undertaking the project and developing an Emergency Social Services capacity increasing resiliency of BC communities.

b)

Correspondence from Anna Di Lorenzo

Re: Willingdon Heights Traffic Safety Concerns

Correspondence was received from Ms. Anna Di Lorenzo expressing multiple concerns regarding traffic safety in the Willingdon Heights area. The writer noted the following concerns:

·         no sidewalks due to the construction around Willingdon Community Centre and Willingdon Park;

·         the speed bumps installed along Carleton Avenue from Douglas Road to William Street appear smaller than the existing ones leaving vehicles speeding that is adjacent to Willingdon Heights Park;

·         Douglas Road at Carleton Avenue is closed due to construction and commuters who use Douglas Road to access Willingdon Avenue are turning left onto Carleton Avenue to access Graveley Street despite a road closed – local traffic only sign;

·         speeding vehicles along Graveley Street to access major streets;

·         vehicles running stop signs at Madison Avenue and Graveley Street;

·         motorists parking on surrounding streets longer than the three-hours as per the Burnaby Street and Traffic Bylaw;

·         workers hired on the Brentwood project parking on surrounding streets longer than the three-hours limit;

·         residents having difficulty leaving and entering the neighbourhood due to the amount of vehicles parked along the streets;

·         difficulty for residents leaving their driveways due to excessive amounts of parked vehicles;

·         children not being easily visible in front yards due to parked vehicles;

·         school busses unable to drop off and pickup children safely from the curb due to occupied spots;

·         a speeding vehicle along Graveley Street that struck and killed a small dog;

·         workers at Douglas Road and Carleton Avenue using the lane to make weekly deliveries not obeying the speed limit;

·         workers at Graveley Street accessing Petro Canada gas station at the corner of Willingdon Avenue and Lougheed Highway not obeying the road closed – local traffic only signage sign.

Staff undertook to review the concerns and follow up with the writer.

c)

Correspondence from Fanny Kwok

Re: Request for Flashing Crossing Road Signal at

Dawson Avenue and Alpha Avenue                           

Correspondence was received from Fanny Kwok requesting the City to install a flashing crossing road signal light at Dawson Avenue and Alpha Avenue.

Staff advised a full traffic signal will be installed in the future.

d)

Correspondence from Martin Kendell

Re: Traffic Concerns for 4100 Block of Dawson Street

Correspondence was received from Mr. Martin Kendell expressing concern regarding the traffic flow pattern changes at 4100 Block of Dawson Street, and at the intersection of Dawson Street and Gilmore Avenue.

Mr. Kendell noted the following concerns:

·         curb parking has been removed from the north side of Dawson Street leading to an increase of park and ride vehicles in the underground parking of the writer’s apartment building;

·         Dawson Street has two lanes of traffic travelling eastbound resulting in hazardous conditions when turning left out of the building driveway travelling westbound on Dawson Street;

·         westbound traffic has been reduced to a left turn lane and a shared straight through/right turn lane at the intersection of Dawson Street and Gilmore Avenue. The writer notes it is leading to backed up vehicles during rush hour, and motorists illegally using the left hand turn to proceed straight in the intersection when the right lane is blocked due to vehicles turning right from pedestrian traffic at Gilmore Skytrain station.

The writer suggested removing some of the metered parking on the south side of Dawson Street, immediately west of the apartment building’s driveway, to increase the driver’s vision turning out of the driveway and reconfiguring the intersection of Dawson Street and Gilmore Avenue to create an unencumbered lane for westbound traffic on Henning Drive.

Staff advised Dawson Street and Gilmore Avenue will be considered for reconfiguration in the spring.

Staff undertook to follow up the writer.

e)

Memorandum from the Officer in Charge, RCMP

Re: Update for Request for Pedestrian Sign on Byrne Road and Marine Way                                                                                

A memorandum was received from the Officer in Charge, RCMP providing an update to the delegation that appeared at the Public Safety Committee meeting on 2018 November 06 regarding excessive speeding vehicles at Byrne Road and Marine Way. The Burnaby RCMP Traffic Unit attended the above-noted intersection five different times with a combination of days and nights resulting in limited violations. In December 2018, numerous violation tickets were issued for non-speeding offences and Burnaby Traffic members set up and utilized an Automated Licence Plate Reader resulting in many violation tickets for offences such as driving without a driver’s licence or vehicle insurance. Twenty-nine violation tickets were issued when RCMP attended the area. Burnaby RCMP will be continuing to monitor the area periodically, and the City will be recommending to the Speed Camera Coordinator of BC to have a Speed Camera (a device to help reduce potential speeders not observed during enforcement) installed at this intersection.

*Councillor Volkow left the meeting at 7:06 p.m. and did not return*

f)

Memorandum from the Officer in Charge, RCMP

Re: Update on Community Events                         

A memorandum was received from the Officer in Charge, RCMP regarding an update on community events in response to the RCMP Monthly Report for August and September 2018. The Committee had requested RCMP continue with events such as Coffee with a Cop as a community engagement tool.

On 2018 December 19, Community Response Team and Youth Investigative Team members attended the Tim Hortons located at Northgate Mall on North Road discussing various crime and public safety initiatives. The event was broadcast through social media and was well-received, leading to positive interactions with members of the community.

Coffee with a Cop is anticipated to take place at the end of January in the District #1 area.

g)

Memorandum from the Officer in Charge, RCMP

Re: Willard Park                                                             

A memorandum was received from the Officer in Charge, RCMP in response to a complaint made on 2018 November 29 of speeding cars and buses between 12^th Avenue and Thorne Avenue on Willard Street near Willard Park. Eleven violation tickets were issued to motorists for speeding violations during weekday afternoon rush hour times. Burnaby RCMP will continue to conduct periodic speed enforcement on Williard Street during problematic times, typically at weekday afternoon rush hour.

Staff undertook to follow up with the writer.

h)

Memorandum from the Director Engineering

Re: Brentlawn Drive Traffic Congestion         

A memorandum was received from the Director Engineering providing an update to the concerns regarding traffic congestion along Brentlawn Drive.

Staff were informed by Coast Mountain Bus Company that the average occupancy of buses along Brentlawn Drive during peak periods in the peak direction is about thirteen passengers per trip. It was also noted it could reach up to forty passengers per trip during average peak occupancies along the rest of the route.

*Ms. Dayment left the meeting at 7:25 p.m. and did not return*

Arising from discussion and without objection, the Committee considered the following motion:

MOVED by councillor dhaliwal

SECONDED BY councillor wang

THAT staff prepare a report considering resident only parking and further options on Brentlawn Drive; and,

THAT the report include recommendations for implementing resident only parking restrictions in appropriate Burnaby neighbourhoods.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

MOVED by mr. PEREIRA

SECONDED BY mr. reid

THAT staff install a no parking zone in front of 4632 and 4636 Brentlawn Drive.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

5.

REPORT

MOVED by councillor dhaliwal

SECONDED by councillor wang

THAT the report be received.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

a)

Report from the Director Engineering

Re: 2019 Local Area Service Program for Speed Humps

The Director Engineering submitted a report to review applications for the 2019 speed hump program and recommend streets that should proceed to the Local Area Service Program (LASP) process.

The Director Engineering recommended:

1.        THAT the Committee recommend that Council advance the requested speed humps, as discussed and recommended in this report, to the 2019 LASP process.

2.        THAT the Committee recommend that Council send a copy of this report to the residents who requested speed humps as part of the 2019 LASP.

MOVED by councillor dhaliwal

SECONDED BY councillor wang

THAT the recommendations of the Director Engineering be adopted.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

6.

MONTHLY REPORTS

a)

District #1

Ms. Bruschetta, Vice Chair, provided a report of activities that took place in District #1 during November 2018.

b)

District #2 - no submission

No report was provided at this time.

c)

District #3 - November 2018

Ms. Tazul Ali, Chair, provided a report of activities that took place in District #3 during November 2018.

A member of CPAC D3 noticed activity that appeared to be a drug drop off area at Mary Avenue Park.

Staff advised RCMP attended Mary Avenue Park on numerous occausions and concluded there was only one incident. RCMP Bike Patrol and Foot Patrol will continue to monitor the area.

d)

District #4 - November 2018

Ms. Mary Gates, Chair, provided a report of activities that took place in District #4 during November 2018.

There was no meeting held in December 2018.

e)

RCMP - October/November 2018

Chief Superintendent Burleigh submitted a report providing an overview of activities that took place during October and November 2018. The Chief Superintendent highlighted the following items:

·         business break and enters are up in the District 2 and 3 areas compared to 2017;

·         residential break and enters and automobile thefts are down in all districts;

·         thefts from automobiles decreased in Districts 1, 3 and 4, and increased slightly in District 2;

·         the Economic Crime Unit partnered with Vancity providing a presentation on current fraud trends such as phishing emails to Canada Revenue Agency scams;

·         on 2018 November 15, the Crime Prevention Unit provided a Crime-Free Multi-Housing Workshop with valuable information on how to start and end a tenancy;

·         the Youth Investigate Team facilitated presentations from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement ending gang life to students;

·         in October, volunteers from District 2, along with Transit Police and ICBC, participated in the ICBC Pedestrian Awareness Campaign by handing out reflectors at Production Way Skytrain station and the SFU bus loop;

·         Youth Investigate Team members were involved in the “Think of Me” ticketing project where members distributed cards to elementary school students to draw messages reminding parents to drive with care avoiding collisions. Members collected the cards and handed to drivers in school zones to communicate to parents to slow down, watch for pedestrians at crosswalks and put cell phones away;

·         on 2018 November 06, a search warrant was conducted for a property that was operating illegally being a medical cannabis dispensary. A number of cannabis products were seized;

·         in the beginning of summer 2018, the Community Response Team (CRT) was notified by BC Liquor Distribution Branch of ongoing thefts from local stores. The identified suspect fled to Calgary, Alberta and a Canada wide warrant has been issued;

·         on 2018 November 19, CRT members arrested a suspect for breaching multiple conditions in the area around Hillside Gardens and Edmonds Community Center;

·         Victim Services Unit opened 133 files in October;

·         on 2018 November 14, Burnaby RCMP hosted “Take your kids to work day”, the Officer in Charge provided opportunities for participants to learn about forensics, a police dog in action, and hear from Emergency Response Team members.

*Ms. Dawson left the meeting at 6:37 p.m.*

f)

Fire Department - November/December 2018

The Fire Chief submitted a report providing an overview of activities that took place during November and December 2018. The Fire Chief highlighted the following items:

·         on 2018 November 01, Fire Department hosted “Take your kids to work day”;

·         a windstorm in December resulted in calling crews to staff vehicles as there were many calls over a two hour period;

·         two hazardous material major incidents;

·         several fires resulting in no major injuries;

·         on 2018 December 23, there was a technical rescue where a person climbed a crane; however, the firefighter talked the individual to come down from the crane;

·         a car hit a power pole on Canada Way and Sperling Avenue and the wires landed on the car. The individual was trapped in the car for 20 minutes while BC Hydro came to make the scene safe;

·         600 calls per month on medical emergencies;

·         28 overdose incidents in the last two months; and,

·         completed 64 low-rise building inspections.

*Ms. Dawson returned to the meeting at 7:44 p.m.*

7.

TABLED MATTER

MOVED by mr. paul

SECONDED by mr. reid

THAT this report be now LIFTED from the table.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

a)

Report from the Director Engineering

Re: Brentlawn Drive Traffic Congestion

(Tabled 2018 November 06)                      

The Director Engineering submitted a report to recommend measures to alleviate traffic congestion along Brentlawn Drive.

The Director Engineering recommended:

1.        THAT the Committee recommend to Council the installation of parking restrictions as outlined in this report to help reduce traffic conflicts along Brentlawn Drive and to work with Shape Properties to provide more parking for contractors within Brentwood Mall.

2.        THAT a copy of this report be sent to residents along Brentlawn Drive.

MOVED BY COUNCILLOR DHALIWAL

SECONDED BY COUNCILLOR WANG

THAT this report be TABLED to allow staff the opportunity for further review.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The recommendations were not moved and no discussion took place at this time. The Committee, under Item 4(h) of this agenda, passed a new motion, requesting a report from staff on considering resident only parking, and further options on Brentlawn Drive and that the report include recommendations for implementing resident only parking restrictions in appropriate Burnaby neighbourhoods. A secondary motion was made for staff to install a no parking zone of 20 metres in front of 4632 and 4636 Brentlawn Drive.

8.

NEW BUSINESS

Dave Reid – 2019 January 03 Burnaby Now Article  

Mr. Reid referred to two articles in the Burnaby Now from 2019 January 03, regarding “It’s time to keep cyclists off of our City sidewalks” and “Burnaby Firefighters saved our home”. Mr. Reid thanked the Burnaby firefighters for their service to the community.

Staff undertook to review the concerns listed in the Burnaby Now article “It’s time to keep cyclists off of our City sidewalks”.

David Pereira – Thanks to Committee 

Mr. Pereira thanked the Committee allowing him the opportunity to be part of the Public Safety Committee and the Community Policing Committee over the last six years as a Citizen Representative.  

9.

INQUIRIES

There were no inquiries brought before the Committee at this time.

10.

ADJOURNMENT

MOVED by councillor dhaliwal

SECONDED BY councillor wang

THAT this Open Committee meeting do now adjourn.

CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY

The Open meeting adjourned at 7:53 p.m.

________________________

________________________

Lauren Cichon

ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER                  

Councillor Pietro Calendino

CHAIR