New path and staircase improve access to Moody Centre Station for pedestrians and cyclists

 A new multi-use path and staircase are now open for public use at the west end of the Moody Centre Station parking lot. 

“The completion of this construction project, which includes new traffic barriers and railings along Moody Street, brings significant safety and accessibility improvements for pedestrians and cyclists moving between Moody Street and Moody Centre Station,” says Acting Mayor Steve Milani. “We want to encourage more people to leave their cars at home and walk, cycle, or use public transit, and these improvements will help us do that.” 

Construction work began in August 2019 and is almost complete. Access to the path and staircase will be maintained while crews finish landscaping work over the next few weeks. 

This project supports an objective in the Council Strategic Plan – provide people with a variety of options to move through and around Port Moody safely and efficiently – as well as the goals of the City’s Master Transportation Plan to improve walking and cycling connections to transit stations, and make the City more walkable and bicycle friendly.

The project also includes a public art component, which will be unveiled at a public celebration on Saturday, November 2, 2019 at 1pm. 

The public art component is the result of a community art project titled Portrait of a City, facilitated by the City’s resident artist, Sara Graham. At two community events – Port Moody’s Earth Day celebration on April 14, 2019 and the Fingerling Festival on May 4, 2019 – kids and adults were invited to draw something they love about Port Moody, such as the natural environment or local wildlife. Graham collected about 100 drawings, which she scanned and then redrew using a computer program. The computer-generated images were used to create five separate panels that were waterjet-cut into aluminum; the aluminum was then powder-coated to give the panels colour. 

The finished panels will be integrated with a fence along the new multi-use path. On sunny days, the artwork will cast shadows onto the pavement in a variety of shapes. 

“This public art project not only connects us to the place where we live, but also highlights how art can be integrated with the City’s infrastructure,” continues Acting Mayor Milani. “Projects like this one help us to achieve the vision for Port Moody set out in our Arts and Culture Master Plan, which is a City of the Arts where cultural expression is woven into everything we do.”