In an effort to keep Mackay Creek from spilling onto Mackay Road, the City and District of North Vancouver are in the midst of a $3.2-million flood mitigation project.
The city is slated to pay $800,000, buttressed by $2.4 million in provincial and federal grants, to build a creek channel in Hyak Park, add a dike along Mackay Road, replace a sewer main under the creek and relocate the footbridge west of Capilano Mall.
The work also involves narrowing Mackay Road between Roosevelt and Churchill crescents, just below Marine Drive – turning it into a one-way street and limiting parking to the west side of the street.
The change is expected to result in seven lost parking spots. The District of North Vancouver is set to turn Roosevelt into a one-way road, adding eight or nine parking spots.
Approximately 100 trees – mostly cottonwood and poplar – have been, or are being, chopped and removed, according to City of North Vancouver communications manager Connie Rabold. Slope stability should not be a factor in the area, according to Rabold, who explained the slopes are not significant and that the city plans to plant 600 new trees and 800 shrubs in the area.
The work also involves using a grant from TransLink for a multi-use path along the new Mackay Road dike, from West First Street to Marine Drive.
With the exception of the removal of the weirs and some work on the new stream channel, the project is set to wrap up this spring.
