A proposed ambulance station for Burnaby is another step closer to becoming a reality.
On Monday, city council supported a rezoning application, for the eventual construction of a new B.C. Ambulance facility in the Royal Oak part of town, to move to the public hearing stage.
The plan is for the B.C. Ambulance Service to purchase city land located south of Kingsway between Buller and Waltham avenues and build the new facility.
The proposed facility would relocate and consolidate the two former ambulance stations in Vancouver and New Westminster as well as a special operations facility in North Delta.
The new station will be able to accommodate 25 to 30 staff and up to 21 ambulances. It will also function as an ambulance dispatch station for the South Burnaby area.
The facility will also function as the ambulance service’s regional headquarters for catastrophic event and community special event operations.
The North Burnaby area will continue to be served by the ambulance centre on Douglas Road.
Mayor Derek Corrigan said it was important for both council and the community to have an ambulance centre in Burnaby.
“There is some significance to having an ambulance centre right in your city, where ambulances that are parked are available and accessible,” he said.
While the mayor is hopeful the new facility will improve response times for ambulances, he suggested that will only happen with an increase in the number of ambulances.
In this case, the city isn’t getting any more ambulances.
Corrigan said ambulance wait times remain a concern for the city.
“This doesn’t solve any of those problems, but it does mean there is a presence here in Burnaby,” he said.
According to a staff report, the city sold the land at a price of $81 per square foot of land.
The total size of the property is 28,008 square feet.
The report noted the price could change depending on the value of the land and the time it takes to complete the sale.
As for the location, Corrigan isn’t expecting much opposition, noting the facility is in an industrial area, and since not all the ambulances will be coming from the location, there wouldn’t be a significant increase in siren noises.
The public hearing is set for Nov. 24.
