New Westminster opens final section of Pier Park expansion

The City of New Westminster has opened the final section of the westward expansion of Westminster Pier Park, between the Sixth Street overpass and the Fraser River Discovery Centre.

The project completes the westward expansion set out in the city's 2019 Riverfront Park Master Plan. The new spaces add about two acres of parkland downtown and connect Pier Park with the Riverfront Esplanade by a multi-use path for walking, wheeling and cycling.

Built above a three-storey parkade, the expansion includes a festival plaza with seasonal water jets and a shaded performance stage, lawns, tiered seating, an outdoor fitness area, ping-pong and picnic tables, a dog relief area and more than 100 new trees. Two accessible washrooms near the Sixth Street play area are expected to be completed in fall 2026.

The park also includes Ebb and Flow, a public artwork by Indigenous artists Brent Sparrow and Kelly Cannell. The two cedar-and-aluminum sculptures represent traditional Musqueam Salish river markers and recognize the cultural and ecological importance of salmon and sturgeon.

The city contributed $7.6 million from its capital budget to build the park above the private parkade, in partnership with Bosa Development. A free opening celebration is planned for Aug. 5 from 3 to 8 p.m., with family activities, food trucks, entertainment and a 7 p.m. ribbon-cutting; details are available at newwestcity.ca/events.