SFPR Aerial Tour

Friday April 22: Join the Wave Against the Pave!

Calling all residents, students, parents, elders, streamkeepers, treeplanters, guerilla gardeners, blockaders, rebels, climate defenders, farmers and freeway fighters!

As chainsaws roar and bulldozers get set to roll on the controversial $2 billion South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway (SFPR), join local residents and community groups to stand up for climate justice!

Last October, hundreds of people dug up the freeway construction site in Surrey with shovels and wheelbarrows, and in December we used sand from the SFPR to build a dike blocking the provincial cabinet offices. Now it’s time to step up the campaign of mass direct action against climate crime. We need to turn up the heat, in order to turn down the heat.

WHAT & WHEN: Mass Direct Action against Climate Crime, beginning at 2 pm on Friday April 22 (Mother Earth Day). Actions may continue over multiple days on this long weekend and beyond. Like our previous actions, it will be non-disruptive to area residents, even as we disrupt continuation of the South Fraser Perimeter Road freeway (SFPR). There will be a variety of ways people can get involved and demonstrate their support, including roles with little or no legal risk. All are welcome to participate.

WHERE: Meet at Annieville Supermarket, 10996 River Road, Delta. (Take the 640 bus from Scott Road Skytrain or Ladner Exchange)

Come to a pre-action Teach-in! Join us for presentations, action planning, skill sharing and legal info:

• DELTA: Saturday March 19, 1-4 pm, Ladner United Church, 4960 48 Ave
• VANCOUVER: Saturday March 26, 1-4 pm, Grandview Calvary Baptist Church, 1803 E. 1st Ave
• SURREY: Saturday April 9, 1-4 pm, Kwantlen University, Room D-128 (Fir Building), 12666 72 Ave

WHO: This is an initiative of climate justice activists from GatewaySucks.org, local Council of Canadians chapters, the Critical Criminology Working Group and others. We welcome your involvement in the planning process, especially at a teach-in before the action (see above). We seek endorsements and input from other organizations, and your help in mobilizing your friends, neighbours, community groups or affinity group to join us!

WHY: Now under legal challenge in federal court, the estimated $2 billion proposed SFPR freeway would greatly increase greenhouse gas emissions, pave invaluable farmland, scar the banks of the Fraser River, pollute elementary school playgrounds, and damage indigenous heritage sites. This freeway is an irresponsible waste of public money, and many similar projects have been stopped before. The SFPR has already been “downgraded” due to lack of funds, and dubbed a “white elephant” in the mainstream press. We will emphasize the need to shift resources from climate crimes like freeways to public transit, and to protect communities from flooding and other effects of global warming.

CONTACT: Send endorsements and questions to info@stopthepave.org or call 604 877 1223, and visit us at www.StopThePave.org

Let’s kick off a hot summer of resistance!

Group Hike on the South Fraser Witness Trail – Fri. Nov. 5

Photo: Red legged frog on the South Fraser Witness Trail

“Did you hear the one about why the red-legged frogs crossed the road? Well, probably not, because they never made it to the other side.”

— Globe and Mail article about the failed mitigation of the Sea to Sky Highway

The South Fraser Witness Trail was begun in 2009 by volunteers from Surrey Environmental Partners and the Wilderness Committee. It follows the route of the proposed South Fraser Perimeter Road through an urban forest in Surrey. Named as one of the city’s five major natural area hubs in a recent study, it is home to deer, beavers, herons, owls, salmon, and endangered species such as the Red legged frog and Pacific water shrew. (As of yet there are no “underpasses” planned for Surrey’s Red legged frogs)

Witness Trails are a time tested way of protecting natural areas from irresponsible development. Come on the hike to see the wildlife and old growth spruce trees. Find out what is at stake if the South Fraser Freeway gets built, and what we can do to stop it!

When: Friday November 5, 3:15 pm (not 3:00 pm as listed above)
Where: 168 St. & 108 Ave. in Surrey (meet at bus stop – map: http://bit.ly/aXEEZG)

(The C74 bus runs direct to this location from Surrey Central Skytrain. Just get on the bus at 2:47 pm at Bay 12 under the tracks, and ask the driver to let you off at 168 St & 108 Ave.)

The trail includes rugged sections. Bring drinking water, a snack, and water resistant footwear. The hike will proceed rain or shine and will only be canceled in case of high winds or dangerous conditions. For more information call 604 588 4203 (including day of hike) or email witnesstrail@gmail.com

For detailed information, including a downloadable trail map and brochure, visit:
www.gatewaysucks.org/trail

For background information visit:
www.wildernesscommittee.org/bend