Demolition is underway at Grimston Park, as the work begins to replace the aging adventure playground with safer, more modern equipment. After a series of public consultations, the final design seems to be pretty much settled.

Here’s what will be included in the $230,000 upgrade.

When the first fluffy flakes fell before Christmas, New Westminster was postcard-pretty and everywhere I went I could hear people humming to themselves “… where the treetops glisten and children listen to hear sleigh bells in the snow … ”
Once Snowmageddon hit in full force, it wasn’t so cute anymore.
A local blogger, Daniel from CityCaucus.com, was one of many of us who felt frustrated by the two-foot snowdrifts that remained on side streets in the days following Snowmageddon 2008:
Admittedly, even by Canadian standards we did receive a lot of snow. …

I really can not believe Miss 604 beat me to it!
New Westminster is a haven for snow sledding for the youthful and the young at heart. As any one who has walked uptown from the New Westminster Skytrain station can attest, we have got some hills in this fair city! While there are a good number of sledding sites around the Royal City and a notable one at the North East corner of Queen’s Park, perhaps the snowy hill most slid upon is the one on the South side of …

Grimston Park will be protected space, and will not be considered as a future school site according to last night’s school board vote. This is great for the West End, who would have lost its only large park, but leaves New West in a bit of a pickle. New schools must be built, but where? To further complicate matters, our school district is facing a $2 million budget shortfall. We have neither time, nor money, nor resources. So what to do?
Some creative thinking is called for! Some of the ideas …

Roundup of some recent news items related to our fair city:

Casey Cook wants Grimston “off the table” for new school site [The Record's Time Out Corner blog]
New West-based Credit Counselling Society offers tips to rein in holiday spending . [Financial Post]

Royal City Ballet’s Nutcracker ticket sales for Vancouver performance affected by news of Ballet B.C.’s financial woes [Georgia Straight]
Local kid made good Justin Morneau named Canada’s top baseball player [CBC]
Fraser Health Authority apologizes after a Royal Columbian Hospital night nurse shaves off a Sikh man’s beard [Maple Leaf Sikh]
Local lacrosse star Paul …

Royal City Blogger Niki Hope, who excels at all things educational in her website, has recently posted that the Glenbrook Middle School Parent Advisory Council has passed a resolution that, while focusing on the need for a new High School, also calls for the use of Grimston Park as a school site for a middle school.
While the idea of a school on Grimston has been almost universally reviled by the West End community (see Facebook Page Here) and the need for a middle school is still hotly debated, I don’t …

Taking a (web)page straight from the David Plouffe hand book, this local school trustee candidate has been kicking it Obama style by launching a polite and engaging army of telephone campaign staff on the voters of New Westminster.
Oh yes, after getting a call a week ago, my wife asked some questions about the “School on Grimston Park” controversy (against btw) and as a follow up, she asked further questions that the volunteer simply could not answer on Ms. Kaur’s behalf. “May I take your information and Kirpaul can get back …

Photo of NWSS library doors by BuckyHermit (via Flickr)

A small geographical footprint is both one of New Westminster’s charms and one of its challenges. Density is inevitable. Sprawl is not an option. This is great, if you’re assessing public transit feasibility or walkability within the city. It means, however, that options are limited when it comes to new development.  

New West has long known it needs new schools. The current high school is in need of upgrades and isn’t adequate to house all of the city’s kids. The original idea …