Situated on the eastern edge of the Burrard Inlet in BC’s Lower Mainland, the City of Port Moody is a scenic community that includes many parks, trails, and pathways. With a commitment to sustainability and active transportation, the city has been improving its network of pathways, in particular connections to the Lower Mainland’s transit system, SkyTrain. 

The completion of the SkyTrain Evergreen Line through Port Moody, as well as Park and Ride facilities, increased pedestrian traffic on the existing pathway to the Moody Centre SkyTrain Station. The City wished to replace the existing wooden staircase with a larger structure, and provide universal accessibility. 

The City engaged Associated Engineering to provide design and construction services for a new ramp, staircase, and landscaping. The ramp would connect to the existing Moody Street Overpass and pathway to Rocky Point Park, which Associated Engineering had recently designed.

Project Manager, Chris Cheng, tells us, “The steep topography, with slopes of about 2 to 1, and small site posed a significant design constraint. The ramp design needed to fit within the site and meet the City’s maximum grade requirement of 8%.”

To meet grade requirements, segmental block retaining walls were incorporated into the design. The final design included a pressure treated timber stairway, similar to those we used at Port Moody’s Easthill Park. To foster sustainability, timber stairs, timber railing, and wooden park benches were used, rather than steel, concrete, or plastic.  

Construction Inspector, Artem Zaporozhets adds, “As part of the design, we also investigated the City’s safety concerns regarding the nearby Moody Street. The pathway design and signage improves safety.”  The design also includes drainage, utilities, and wayfinding.

In keeping with Port Moody’s reputation as the City of The Arts, the City incorporated a public art display into the project. Computer images were generated from drawings collected at organized community events. Images were cut into aluminum panels that were integrated into the fencing along the new multi-use path. On sunny days, the artwork casts shadows of the images onto the pathway. 

The project was completed in November 2019.

Key personnel on this project are Chris Cheng, Artem Zaporozhets, Doug Falkins, Winnie Li, James Nikolai, and Allan Luong.