Vancouver Rundown Thursday March 14, 2024

Mar 14, 2024

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Summary

Surrey is about to get major east-west improvements with an expansion of 72 Avenue. The City has announced a $138 million upgrade to the route to keep up with an expanding population. 72 Avenue will be four-laned across Surrey to serve more than 37,000 vehicles a day - that will also provide some relief to Highway 10 and 64 Avenue.

Other news…

The B.C. government is reportedly putting up another $110 million to help speed up the difficult and delayed transition from the RCMP to a Surrey Police Service. The province is not making any public comments on the extra cash being offered to Surrey - something that has been claimed by an Abbotsford Conservative MLA. Mayor Brenda Locke, who remains firm with her majority on council in opposing the transition, confirms there are talks underway between the city and the province.

It’s a step in closing the digital divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots.’ Vancouver will be providing free wifi to most of the Downtown Eastside. It’s hoped the move will help the homeless get better access to services and emergency help. It’s estimated Vancouver currently has more than 500 free wifi spots, available through a mix of private and public buildings.

The Vancouver Fringe Festival will survive another year…barely. This year’s festival is scaled down by a third and organizers are running an emergency campaign to raise some funds. The festival has been running for close to 40 years on Granville Island and features many of the city’s theatre performers.

As promised, there’s more sunshine in the forecast for Thursday, Friday and the weekend. And now forecasters think highs could reach the low 20s in some parts of the Lower Mainland, in a few days. Here are the latest conditions from our private weather station in Surrey.