A Better Maple Ridge council has shown up for Maple Ridge youth, funding the programs and building the spaces kids actually use. Since 2023, RISE has brought the City, RCMP, schools, and local service agencies together to support thousands of young people and families. Federal partners just renewed their investment in RISE for another three years, a vote of confidence in work this council started. This council was the one that put real dollars behind the Maple Ridge Youth Strategy, a plan that had sat on the shelf for years without the funding or staff time to make it real. We didn't just inherit a strategy and let it collect dust. We backed it with budget, tied it to programs like RISE, and started turning it into things young people can see and feel. 

New Youth Space

We know families need real places to gather and play, close to home. That's why we've worked to open new spaces where you can do exactly that. We opened new spray parks and completed major renovations at Volker and Maple Ridge Park. We delivered a new spray park on the west side of town, creating even more spaces for you to gather and play close to home. 

Young people need safe spaces built for them, not leftover ones. That's why we expanded youth services at Albion Community Centre, and we want to keep bringing those services closer to where families actually live. 

If Maple Ridge moves forward with a new recreation centre on October 17th, an A Better Maple Ridge council will ensure there is youth space included in its design. A Better Maple Ridge is committed to working with young people and community partners to make sure that space is built to meet the growing needs of our community. That means actively seeking out youth feedback, not just building for young people but listening to them and building with them.

Safer Ways to Get to School

However your kids get to school, we want them getting there safely. 

Families need to get their kids to school safely, no matter how they get there. That's why we've worked to make every route safer, one crossing at a time. We got straight to work and installed 80+ new pedestrian-activated crossings across the city, including 17 new LED light-up crosswalks added this spring alone. 

We didn't stop at signs and signals. We've painted 49 school-zone pavement decals over the past two years, another reminder to every driver rolling through. These crossings haven't landed randomly. We've built where families have been asking for years, and where growth means more people are moving through every day. There's more ground to cover, and an ABMR council will build on this work with new LED light-up crosswalks underway near Yennadon Elementary on 132 Avenue, at 124 Avenue and Gray Street near Alouette Elementary and repaving on 126 Avenue, smoothing out a route families already rely on.

As Maple Ridge grows toward 125,000 people, we need a transportation network built for everyone who uses it, no matter their age, income, or ability, and that starts with how kids get to school. We put safe commuting for school-aged kids at the centre of Maple Ridge's Strategic Transportation Plan, backed with sidewalks, streetlights, and safer roads for everyone who walks, bikes, and drives. An ABMR council will build on that with a real, connected network of walking and cycling paths, giving you a safe, viable way to get to school on their own two feet or two wheels. Including an all-ages-and-abilities cycling route on 232 Street, from Abernethy Way to Fern Crescent, filling the gap along Dewdney Trunk Road between 232nd and 240th,  and a new east-west connection through the Town Centre along Selkirk Avenue.

Stay tuned for more commitments to create a safer Maple Ridge for everyone.