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LETTER: More city updates wanted

Why has there been scant to no information on two major issues of concern in my neighborhood?
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If my memory serves me it was only a few years ago that Mission hired a communication/public relations person. That being the case why has there been scant to no information on two major issues of concern in my neighborhood?

Why does it take four months to replace a tiny, two-lane 30’ bridge over Hairsine Creek especially when given the tremendous advantage of Keystone Road being closed completely?

I don’t want to hear the over used excuse of the pandemic or supply line disruption as was alluded to on the website. Keystone Road should never have been closed until all materials were accounted for. Closing a major transportation corridor for four months is unacceptable.

The other issue is the Wren Street failure and closure caused by the “no-trench” installation of the pressurized sewer pipe, aided by a rain event, that services the Polygon high density development.

According to the Internet this system of forcing sewer pipe underground below the road surface can have some pitfalls, especially on a 100-year-old logging road, such as creating air pockets caused by ground movements.

These voids allow for water retention and create a natural water path along the very steep sewer pipe causing erosion, hence the road failure.

According to the Mission CAO’s statement in the Dec. 10, 2021 edition of the Record, “these old logging roads were built before geotechnical assessments were required.” That being the case why was a sewer pipe allowed under a logging road? Is it all about “hurry and haste” with little forethought to accommodate the high density development on Nelson Street?

Who will pay to rebuild Wren Street? And also the bridge over Silverdale Creek that was weakened by the pipeline construction and is now held together with bailing wire?

Who gave the OK to put a sewer line under a logging road and over a rickety bridge that crosses over a class A fish habitat and salmon spawning creek?

This could have been much worse if the pipe had broken allowing raw sewage into the creek.

The oft used mantra by the naive, “we need development to spread out the tax bill,” is proving to be bogus as evidenced by constant tax increases caused in part by “hurry and haste” poor planning with little forethought.

T.B. Mortimer

Mission