The Cloverdale Community Association (CCA) has joined forces with the Cloverdale Business Improvement Association (CBIA) and Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce (CDCOC) to work together on an improved vision for Cloverdale. The group will start working with the City of Surrey on an update of the Official Community Plan for the Cloverdale Town Centre (including the Cloverdale Fairgrounds).
One of the first projects that Ken Bauder from CCA set up was a task force to fact-find and gather data about two key issues in our community: homelessness and accessibility. The new hospital will bring unprecedented growth to downtown Cloverdale and the coalition wants to address these integral concerns before the population influx exacerbates matters.
“We’re here to do something different. In a neighbourhood with such engrained passion and beliefs about the importance of community values, residents without a roof over their heads is just plain unacceptable,” says CCA Director Ken Bauder.
Stan Leyenhorst, an RHFAC Professional with Universal Access Design, will be overseeing the reporting on accessibilities issues. The goal is to allow everyone, regardless of ability, to fully participate in community life. Accessibility is far more than making accommodations for people who use wheelchairs. Many other groups also need different designs to allow access: people caring for babies or small children, older adults, people dealing with a temporary injury, or those with visual or hearing impairments. Stan is shown with KPU student Tracey Macatangay, who is mapping out the Town Centre for a report to be presented to the City of Surrey. The photograph shows one of the worst blocks in Cloverdale, on 57 Ave just north of the Brickyard Station.
Cloverdale BIA Executive Director Paul Orazietti says, “We have collectively mandated to educate ourselves on these matters of critical importance. Homelessness and accessibility continue to impact how we live, work and play in our town. Change will take time, but we need to get started now, while preserving the rich fabric of Cloverdale’s history.”
Before becoming a director with CCA, Ken Bauder participated as a community member in the SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) Federal Grant managed by Simon Fraser University. That grant, and the relationship with SFU, was the kernel that Bauder used in his search to establish a partnership with a university again.
To that end, he has partnered with a professor in the Geography Department at Kwantlen Polytechnical University. Partnering with a research University program (KPU Arts 4800) benefits all parties: the students receive credits for the research; KPU establishes a community connection; the data acquired by the students partnering with CCA, CBIA, CDCOC, and UAD can be utilized to benefit the residents of Cloverdale and to create a more expanded vision for Cloverdale.
The program will provide two 4th year students to collect and analyze data regarding homelessness and accessibility, a program that will be overseen by Stan from UAD and the BIA.
Rebecca Smith, Advocacy Chair of the CDCOC shares, “the City of Surrey will be unveiling their plans for Cloverdale at the end of November. We will be there to make sure our issues are addressed in the final version of their plan.”
The CCA, CBIA and CDCOC will be working together to represent some of the voices in the Cloverdale community. Their findings will be used to draft a document within twelve to eighteen months, outlining the steps to move forward.
More exciting news to follow; all of us would like to see more residents join the Cloverdale Community Association to be part of making this partnership more effective.
