Queensborough streetscape and drainage engagement

Happy Cities led engagement with Queensborough residents about streetscape upgrades for their neighbourhood in New Westminster.

Queensborough residents participating in a pop-up event for the Queensborough quick-build transportation project. (Happy Cities)

Queensborough is a rapidly growing neighbourhood in New Westminster. Once an area with single-family homes and an industrial zone, the neighbourhood has been shifting into a mixed-use area. Many streets in Queensborough lack sidewalks and bike paths, with only 38 per cent having sidewalks on both sides of the street. As more people move to the neighbourhood, there is growing demand for infrastructure upgrades to provide safe and active streets.  

To respond to this growth, the City of New Westminster adopted the Queensborough Transportation Plan in 2024. The plan provides clear direction for transportation upgrades in the neighbourhood. Happy Cities led engagement for two of these projects. 

Queensborough quick-build transportation project

Pop-up event for the Queensborough Quick-Build Transportation Project. (Happy Cities)

To address high-priority improvements, the City launched the Queensborough quick-build transportation project. This initiative aims to make the neighbourhood safer and more accessible for people walking and rolling through low-cost, immediate interventions to address safety needs while establishing a foundation for long-term investments. 

Happy Cities led engagement to inform residents about the project and to hear the community’s preferred approaches to creating safer streets in their neighbourhood. Through two pop-up events, an online survey, and multilingual outreach, nearly 180 residents participated and shared the challenges they face while navigating the neighbourhood—alongside suggestions on how to make streets feel safer. We heard that a large majority of residents supported quick-build solutions, paving the way for safer streets for the Queensborough community.

Fenton St streetscape project

Staff from the City of New Westminster sharing information with local residents about the Fenton Street Streetscape Project. (Happy Cities)

The Fenton Street streetscape project aims to address chronic flooding and aging infrastructure in Queensborough. While full street reconstruction isn’t yet feasible, the City prioritized immediate drainage upgrades, and wanted to inform residents of the project and how it would impact them.

In 2025, Happy Cities led relationship-based outreach to strengthen community understanding of the proposed drainage improvements and reach as many people as possible. We worked with City staff and a local community champion to conduct door-to-door visits and multilingual engagement. Through this approach, 95 per cent of directly contacted residents participated in engagement. 

Happy Cities is conducting a second round of engagement for the City of New Westminster in April 2026.