Boards wait for input on B.C. Hydro proposal
Utility wants to build substations under park and elementary school
Officials with the Vancouver school and parks boards are waiting to hear from residents before they will take a position on a major B.C. Hydro proposal for the downtown core.
The utility intends to replace two of three aging downtown substations and has approached the respective boards with an idea to build the new structures under Emery Barnes Park in Yaletown and Lord Roberts Annex elementary school in the West End.
Jessica McDonald, CEO of B.C. Hydro, has called the overall plan an “incredible opportunity” that could include compensation to the tune of two new schools, additional daycare spaces, a trio of rejuvenated parks, and an unspecified amount of cash. The utility wants the city bodies to make their decisions on the plan by the end of March. That leaves a shorter window for public consultation than normal, said Michael Wiebe, the newly elected parks board chair.
When asked whether there was enough information available to residents to allow them to decide whether underground substations are safe, Wiebe said health and safety was a priority for the parks board. He noted that tests show the presence of electric and magnetic fields above the existing underground substation at Cathedral Square Park are not terribly high — about 100 milligauss during peak hours (high voltage transmission lines produce 81 mG and vacuums and hair dryers produce 300 mG).
Guy Bonnefoy, interim secretarytreasurer at the school board, said the board was in the preliminary stages of considering the proposal and a lot more information was required. He added that the board was in discussions with the Ministry of Education about the idea.
Bonnefoy said the board would rely on B.C. Hydro research to determine whether the proposal would be safe for students, parents and staff.
Former school board trustee Patti Bacchus, who was fired by the provincial government along with her other board colleagues in October, said the idea was “an unusual proposal” that would demand a lot of research to ensure it was truly safe.
“I can tell you right now, if I had a five-year-old and someone said do you want to send (them) to a school that’s sitting on top of an electrical substation, I think I’d be very nervous about that.”
Bacchus said she also found it concerning that B.C. Hydro would fund new schools, noting that is the responsibility of the provincial education ministry.
The utility plans to take comments online and at open houses and roundtables through Feb. 28.
I think I’d be very nervous about (sending a child to a school sitting on top of an electrical substation).