Kyla Knowles - Port Moody City Councillor

06/17/2026

One of the "big works" that Council advanced last night. I encourage folks interested in how we came to this decision to watch the video of the discussion - I'm including it here in the comments. Please forward to exactly 4:00 to hear the beginning of debate. If you want to watch the entire presentation, it starts at 3:49.

I understand there may be some lingering concerns about latent demand, but the majority of Council agreed that we should not let "perfection" be the enemy of "good" in this case.

𝐂𝐏𝐊𝐂/𝐈𝐎𝐂𝐎 𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓: 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐍𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐌𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐘 – 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰

Yesterday's Council meeting was extremely productive as a number of long term plans and items we have been working on for years were presented to Council. The one I am going to talk about today is the CPKC/IOCO overpass widening project that was unanimously supported by all council members last night. This project is one I am particularly proud of, as I, as well as Council have heard for years that our residents want to see their Council make a meaningful impact on traffic and travel times in our community. Not only is this project going to make an impact on traffic the moment it is finished, it is going to provide these benefits without punishing or delaying another road user group which is a mission I have been actively trying to pursue during my term on council. This project proves that it is possible to improve travel times through our city, and get our residents home to their families quicker, without compromising our Master Transportation Plan goals of advancing active transportation. I am proud of this work and the plans that staff have presented to Council, and with the recent improvements to Dewdney Trunk Rd which will be made permanent as part of a separate intersection improvement project, this council will have made a significant reduction in traffic congestion in this area of Port Moody.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 📝: When completed in 2027 this project will add an additional travel lane on the eastbound traffic side of the CPKC overpass (the one by Inlet Skytrain station) that always gets backed up along St. Johns Street. This additional travel lane will allow commuters to have two extended dedicated left turn queueing lanes (turning north onto Ioco Rd) which will significantly relieve pressure on St. Johns and will provide up to a 40% reduction in vehicle travel times for those heading between Moray street and Suter Brook Village.

In addition, the overpass will have the south sidewalk rebuilt to a width of 2 meters compared to the current one at 1.2 meters. The current one is not wide enough to allow two mobility devices to pass each other, let alone two strollers. This improvement will increase pedestrian🚶‍♀️and active transportation 🚲 access and safety on the south side of the overpass.

Although the option for a full width multi-use path (MUP) was not opted in at this time, the option remains for council to consider that project in the future and there is an opportunity, and need, to tie into a MUP on the south side of St. John’s. The separate MUP bridge would have added an additional $4.5m to the project total cost and with no MUP to tie into, it was decided to not proceed with this separate project at this time and save that money for other needs.
The budget for this overpass improvement project is estimated at $2.8m and of that project amount, $1.5m is estimated for intersection and lane reconfiguration improvements to increase traffic flow and efficiencies.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 ⏰: I have been asked many times why this project was not considered sooner, and when discussions about this option started. Council was officially notified of my interest in re-evaluating old design plans when I brought forward a Notice of Motion at the October 28th 2025 council meeting and there were at least two subsequent meetings where this was discussed by Council in early 2026. However, discussions about traffic efficiency down the St. Johns corridor, including intersection improvements at Dewdney Trunk Rd and even the consideration of a “green wave” occurred back in 2023. The first discussion of looking at an overpass widening project was brought up individually with staff in June/July 2023 while I was chair of the Transportation Committee. With such a key intersection in our city, it was clear that it is extremely important to get the improvements that lead to an increased traffic flow correctly modeled and intersections leading up to the bridge improved to the safest we can. Rushing a project on a pivotal traffic network could have been disastrous if done incorrectly. Work had to be done on the Dewdney Trunk Road intersection first, staff were also working on the improvements to traffic and active transportation with the St. Johns Phase 2 redesign as well. All these components need to be designed to work together to function to best efficiency.

Finally, to save money it was best to time this work with the seismic upgrades and resurfacing that would be needed for the overpass to reduce costs to our residents. So patience and responsible timing was required.

I am happy to discuss any aspect of this project or timeline further if there are any questions, I will also be posting a link to the agenda item from Tuesdays committee meeting discussion in the comments below.

In the end, I am proud of this initiative and of Council to invest in both vehicle and active transportation improvements, and I look forward to the quick delivery of this much needed improved infrastructure to our community. Port Moody residents have been waiting a long time, and in my opinion this will be the biggest traffic improvement project for the least cost we have seen in decades.

06/17/2026

Hi everyone, I understand there is an ongoing police incident near PMSS and students are being kept in a "hold and secure" out of an abundance of caution. I am grateful for our police services - I know they'll keep our kids safe.

I will provide updated information on this as soon as I have it. As of right now, the update is the same as the below.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18pCKEg9GK/

Update 1:30 p.m.: Port Moody Police responded to a high-risk incident this afternoon in the lower Clarke Road area of Port Moody. The incident was isolated to a single home. A nearby school was placed under a 'hold & secure' procedure as a precaution.

A male has been taken into custody with assistance from the Lower Mainland Integrated Emergency Response Team & Police Dog Service. Fortunately, there are no injuries to any parties and the matter remains under investigation at this time.

****************

Port Moody Police are currently on scene at an active police incident in the lower Clarke Road area of the city.

Out of an abundance of caution, the nearby high school has been placed on ‘hold & secure’ procedure, however, the incident is currently isolated and unrelated to the school.

No further details will be provided at this time. We will update when the matter has been resolved.

06/17/2026

6.5 hours of incredibly constructive Council meetings tonight - we made some big decisions and advanced some major works. Big kudos to staff - they are delivering on so many initiatives.

More about those in the days to come, but I just wanted to highlight one specific item on the agenda tonight: the final report and draft Guidelines for Respectful Dialogue and Civic Discourse developed by the Public and Social Media Communications Guidelines Task Force.

Earlier this year, the Mayor struck this task force with the intention of ensuring respectful communications during the upcoming campaign season and I think the community should be very pleased with this result. I wanted to send a particular THANK YOU to Port Moody residents Nicole Blades, Robert Simons and Rosemary Lodge for their participation and help with this task - this is community service at its best.

Be truthful. Be kind. Be fair.

Personally, I pledge to abide by these guidelines. To a civil campaign season! 🗳️✅

Approved guidelines in comments 📑

06/15/2026

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥-𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐆𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭'𝐬 𝐁𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔

I'd like to thank my Council colleagues for unanimously supporting my resolution to UBCM regarding the BC government's proposed new tax on municipal professional services.

My backgrounder here:

"The Province of British Columbia, in conjunction with its recent announcement of Budget 2026, has advised that it intends to expand the PST to a wide range of professional services. This tax expansion will directly impact municipal budgets and increase local project costs for the businesses and residents in our community.

As currently proposed, this new tax will increase the cost of the many professional services that municipalities rely on, including engineering and geoscience, architectural services, accounting
and auditing, strata and rental management, commercial real estate commissions, and security and private investigation services.

In turn, those increased costs are projected to lead to deeper pressures on already constrained municipal operating budgets through:
• increased capital and infrastructure project costs;
• increased costs to protective services and community safety initiatives;
• increased costs and delays in processes relying on qualified professionals and specialized services; and
• potential negative impacts on municipal budgets, project timelines and property taxation processes.

At a time when municipalities are facing pressure to control costs, manage infrastructure backlogs, and respond to community safety needs downloaded on them by the provincial government, this increased cost burden will make it more difficult to maintain service levels and deliver projects within budget. This risks upwards pressure on property taxes at a time BC businesses can ill-afford any further cost increases.

Federal data shows that BC has experienced more business exits than entries for five consecutive quarters. When small businesses close or choose not to grow, local governments feel the impact through reduced commercial activity and shrinking revenues. Between Jan 2019 and March 2026, BC ranked last in private sector employment growth of all provinces since 2019 and this tax expansion will aggravate an already dire situation.

Municipal governments are stewards of community stability and economic resilience, responsible for safeguarding the financial health of their communities and supporting the conditions that enable local businesses to thrive. This responsibility is reflected in the Local Government Act, which affirms the role of local governments to “represent the interests and respond to the needs of their communities.”

In bringing this resolution forward, local governments are fulfilling that mandate by seeking to protect the integrity of municipal finances, sustain the local tax base, and support the long-term prosperity and resilience of communities across British Columbia."

06/14/2026

My apologies for the lateness of this post! I said I would share a full description of the projects that three members of Council visited on the recent City tour, but I wanted to wait for more information on the solar roof for the Inlet Fieldhouse - I have that info now 🙂

The first picture is our tour list, so you can match it with the photos. I'll provide a quick summary here, with additional info in the photo captions if need be.

1. New "temporary" basketball court being build on the old firehall lands, should be ready by end of June. Fencing comes last and staff are exploring a community art project on the court. Map shows where parking will go and the space cleared to the east will be the new location for the farmer's market. Please note the red circle! This is a noise sensor for tracking noise volume. Currently our parks bylaw enforces a 10pm quiet time and there will be no lighting for the courts after sundown, so the hope is that there will be no noise for nearby residents after 10pm/whenever the sun goes down.

2. Klahanie sidewalks (no picture) - it was nice to see sidewalks being repaired in Klahanie where tree roots were causing bending and bulging. The trees originally chosen for the boulevards were inappropriate, and lessons have been learned.

3. Inlet Field House - concrete pouring began last week and the fieldhouse is slated for September 2027 completion. The outside deck will accommodate 100 spectators and the solar roofs will supply 30% of the facility's energy use with an anticipated payback period of approximately 8 years.

4. House post #2 "Spirit of Kwikwetlem" - Kwikwetlem nation and part of the In the Presence of Ancestors project. Guided walks are taking place NOW and interested parties should check our website for walk dates! This project was greenlit by the previous Council and the nations contributed the wood and art - the City paid for the rest.

5. Housepost #1 "Grandmother's Prayer" - Tsleil-Waututh Nation post which gets pride of place at the entrance to the Inlet as the primary nation that called these lands home.

6. Easthill Park - New tennis courts with two pickleball court lines added and a new spray park is now being installed - it will have 4 water features. My kids used this park all the time when young and it only had 2 water features, so this is exciting for my neighbourhood. Volleyball nets also now installed for the summer on the grass field.

7. Westhill Park - this is such a great neighbourhood park! Great playground with trees recently added for shade, misting pole, two tabletop tennis tables went in last year, and the covered lacross box accommodates basketball, lacrosse, pickleball and pretty much anything else. A new wrap keeps the water out during the rainy season.

8. Art Wilkinson Park - new park and playground upgrades currently in progress, two ping pong tables now also installed.

9. Seaforth Way (no picture) - new water main being installed, it's time!

10. Port Moody Secondary School tennis courts - court resurfacing complete and a joint use agreement with SD43 allows the public to also use the courts per the sign parameters.

11. Dewdney Trunk Pressure Reducing Valve - essentially the opposite of a pump station. Receives water from the Coquitlam reservoir and then reduces the pressure for distribution across the City.

12. Noons Creek Bomb Cyclone Restoration project (no picture) - up close examination of this area that was heavily damaged by the storm in 2023. Restoration included the planting of 500 native trees, 3400 shrubs and was completed in late 2025. Voids caused by falling trees have been filled and it cost about $169K to rehabilitate the area.

13. Old Orchard Housepost #3 "Our First Ancestors" - Musqueam Nation, awaiting final signage before it will be opened.

14. Recreation Centre Skate Shop - also recently renovated, ran out of time to visit this one.

06/13/2026

Absolutely perfect weather for the unveiling of the City’s newest mural at the Rotary Club of Port Moody Sk8 Park. The project was spearheaded by our own Youth Focus Committee, and Committee Chair Veer Dhillon did a great job introducing the work and its artist, Amy Bao.

Titled “West Coast”, it captures our home beautifully.

06/11/2026

Not a great still shot 😅 but otherwise a fair summary of how I view City Council’s record over the last 4 years and what I hope yet to achieve.

Port Moody Councillor Kyla Knowles Announces Re-Election Campaign...

06/08/2026

Wonderful time today connecting with our Jewish community at the 3rd annual Tri-cities Jewish Culture festival with Callan Morrison Port Moody City Councillor, Zoe Royer, MP and PoCo MLA Mike Farnworth.

As Acting Mayor, Callan spoke about the importance of respect for one another, community, and public safety.

It has been wonderful watching this festival grow year-on-year and it was great to see Maple Ridge Mayor Dan Ruimy. Thanks to Rabbi Mordechai Gurevitz for the warm welcome!